UAV Outback Challenge
Coordinates: 26°34′50.08″S 151°50′23.79″E / 26.5805778°S 151.8399417°E
The UAV Challenge - Outback Rescue, also known as the UAV Outback Challenge or UAV Challenge, is an annual competition for the development of unmanned aerial vehicles. The competition was first held in 2007 and features an open challenge for adults, and a high-school challenge. The event is aimed at promoting the civilian use of unmanned aerial vehicles and the development of low-cost systems that could be used for search and rescue missions. The event is one of the largest robotics challenges in the world and one of the highest stakes UAV challenges, with $50,000 on offer to the winner of the Open segment of the Challenge.
The events involve a thorough scoring system with an emphasis on safety, capability and technical excellence. In particular there is a strong tendency towards autonomous flight. Notably, teams share technical details of their entries, allowing successful innovations to proliferate and increasing the speed of technological development.
The format of the Challenge changes as technological improvements make the tasks more achievable. In 2011 it changed to a search and rescue challenge. No teams successfully completed the challenge until 2014 when several teams were successful. In 2016 the open challenge will change to an automated medical retrieval task.
The Search and Rescue Challenge was held from 2011 to 2014. It was open to worldwide participation, including by universities and hobbyists.
In the challenge, teams must find a target dummy, called Outback Joe and accurately deliver an emergency package to him. The backstory of Joe is that he is a bushwalker that has gotten lost, or a worker who's ute has broken down. He is represented by a 50 kg mannequin dressed in jeans, a work shirt, work boots and an Akubra. The mission area is nearly 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from the airport and is approximately 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) x 6 kilometres (3.7 mi). Teams must not fly greater than 1500 ft above ground level (AGL). Under the rules, teams were required to firstly identify the latitude and longitude of the target to within 100 meters. Teams that succeeded in this task were permitted to attempt to drop the package and complete the challenge.
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