Teams tested their skills in the first phase of the ‘SAPIENCE’ international drone competition, funded by the NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme.
By Mr Shamim Quadir (Senior Communications Officer), Published
On Thursday 29 August and Friday 30 August, City St George’s, University of London played host to four international robotics teams competing head-to-head to perform cutting-edge, autonomous search and rescue tasks at the University’s Autonomous Systems Arena.
The competition is one of the first-of-its-kind of fully autonomously controlled drones without human interaction.
Part of the €1.2m SAPIENCE programme, the competition was the first in a series of collaborative competitions aimed at fostering innovation in search and rescue operations, with the goal of enabling multiple drones to effectively navigate and map global positioning system (GPS)-denied environments, detect and deliver aid to people in disaster areas, and perform complex cooperative tasks.
SAPIENCE is funded through the Science for Peace and Security (SPS) Programme of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), and involves competition among teams of MSc and PhD students from four collaborating institutions: City St George’s, University of London (UK) led by Professor Nabil Aouf; University of Alabama, Huntsville (USA) led by Dr Bryan Mesmer; Delft University of Technology (Netherlands) led by Dr Ewoud Smeur and the University of Klagenfurt (Austria) led by Professor Stefan Weiss.
In consultation with the SPS Programme, the expert academic members of the collaborating institutions devised the SAPIENCE project which was approved by NATO Allies.
Watch Claudio Palestini, Head of the NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme, describe what the SAPIENCE project is and its importance:
The first competition simulated an indoor environment which took the form of a ‘rescue room’ in a disaster-stricken building. A second, upcoming competition will take place in an outdoor disaster environment, and a third will comprise of a mixture of an indoor and outdoor environment to test the robustness of teams’ solutions in varied settings.
Last week’s competition tasks required drones to rely on onboard sensors and advanced navigation algorithms to manoeuvre through unknown, confined spaces and create detailed maps of the rescue room area. Additionally, drones had to identify people in need (simulated with mannequins), detect hazards and obstacles, and deliver aid to those requiring assistance. This competition tested the drones' ability to operate effectively in close quarters and under challenging conditions.
Each participating team consisted of one professor, one academic supervisor and six students. They had the option of using up to two of their own customised, co-operative drones, with the options of introducing artificial intelligence (AI) to their team’s dedicated software to autonomously control them. Each drone could be equipped with the options of LIDAR (laser imaging, detection, and ranging) and depth-sensing cameras to help it navigate.
The rules included tasks being time-bound, and penalties for drones moving outside of the constraints of the working envelopes defined for the tasks.
The overall winners of this phase of the competition were the City St George’s team, who were congratulated by the judges for their wide implementation of AI in their approach toward the competition tasks.
In attendance at the event, Claudio Palestini said:
Also in attendance, The Lord Mayor, Alderman Professor Michael Mainelli, Rector of City St George’s, University of London, said:
Nabil Aouf, lead on the SAPIENCE Project at City St George’s, University of London, and Professor of Robotics, Autonomous Systems, and Machines at the School of Science & Technology at the University, reminded the audience:
Professor Raj Roy, Executive Dean of the School of Science & Technology, City St George’s, University of London, shared:
On 1 August 2024, City, University of London and St George’s, University of London merged to become City St George’s, University of London. Read more about the merger agreement.