MP2000 Autopilot Succeeds at International UAV competition
July 23, 2001
Autopilot manufacturer MicroPilot gained high honors at the 2001 International Aerial Robotics Competition (IARC). The team from the Georgia Institute of Technology leads the IARC's multi year event using MicroPilot's MP2000 autopilot. The competition was held at Webster field in Maryland on Sunday, July 22. The IARC is an international competition among universities to design a flying robot that accomplishes a predefined mission without any form of outside operator assistance. The missions are very futuristic and provide many difficult technical obstacles. The IARC is judged on criteria including how much of the mission each team completes. The 2001 mission included flying 3 km to the site of a simulated nuclear reactor meltdown, finding and entering a building through an open window and transmitting back images from within the building.
Seven teams competed in this year's event , Simon Fraser University, Rose Hullman, North Carolina State, Southern Polytechnic University, Purdue University, University of Waterloo, and Georgia Institute of Technology. MicroPilot was one of the sponsors of the Georgia Tech team headed up by the Georgia Institute of Technology professor, Eric Johnson.
"Obviously, we are very happy with the result of the competition,” said MicroPilot president Howard Loewen. “The top engineering schools across the continent compete in this event which makes being involved especially gratifying.”
In addition to accolades, this competition has earned MicroPilot a great deal of credibility and visibility. The event was attended by representatives from major aerospace firms and military personnel.
Currently, MicroPilot autopilots are in use worldwide and fly a wide range of aircraft from miniature UAVs to high speed turbine powered jet targets. MicroPilot sells autopilots to academic, military, and private research institutions, as well as to UAV manufacturers and end users. MicroPilot also provides integration support and contract engineering for autopilot installations.
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