Future of drones

School of Engineering student Wynton Lee Shen Huei led his team to win a design and pitching competition in Japan recently.

The team comprising engineering students from Yanshan University, China; Duy Tan University, Vietnam; Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi, Thailand; and Aarhus University, Denmark beat other engineering students from 14 universities around the world at the CDIOTM Academy Competition 2018 held at Kanazawa Institute of Technology (KIT).

The theme of the competition, What Kind of Future Will Drones Bring, and How Will They Affect Our Daily Lives?, was related to solving the challenges of using drones for delivery purposes. The competitors were required to review various aspects of engineering design principles, ethics and economics, then propose design for future drones, and demonstrate the designed drone by building the system, in the form of pitching presentation.

A third-year engineering student, Lee said: “Throughout the three-day competition in Japan, there were two major challenges that my team encountered. One, deciding a scenario for our drone to solve and two, getting a prototype mechanism ready for the second day.”

The team members did a decision matrix to decide on which scenario was the best idea based on a few criteria.

“In the end, our idea evolved into automating the delivery process of drones, which includes, automating the parcel packaging, loading of the packaging and change of battery with the help of conveyor belts. We had two designs and were delayed in manufacturing, and we couldn’t present a working hand prototype by the end of the second day while other teams managed to do that.

“To overcome this challenge, my team members and I arrived at the KIT 1½ hours earlier to make a new design, and fortunately we were able to complete it