By Gwen Mathis | [email protected]
THE UAS4STEM SEASON is picking up, and the AMA Education team couldn’t be more excited. In fact, we’re so excited for the season that we’re ready to talk about UAS4STEM again!
Chances are that you’ve probably had access to the other columns written recently about UAS4STEM. The last time we wrote about this challenge, it was to wrap up the 2023-2024 season and share the results from the national finals competition in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. I’m here now to share information about the upcoming season and about some of the exciting things that have already happened.
By the time you read this, the 2024-2025 competition season will have been underway for a few months. Teams started working on their drones as early as October 2024 and, starting in April, it will be time for them to show off all they’ve accomplished in the virtual preliminary competition.
For those who don’t know, UAS4STEM is AMA’s drone engineering challenge. Originally started in 2012 as a Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) program sponsored by AMA, this STEM competition is now run by a dedicated team through AMA’s Education department.
All you need to get started in UAS4STEM is ambition, dedication, the necessary drone components, and a laptop—and four to 10 interested students from ages 11 to 18, as well as one or two adult mentors. As a bonus, all students and mentors receive an AMA membership after registering.
Each team learns how to build and program a drone, as well as learn what duties they need to take on to field a successful team. Each student is required to complete the UAS4STEM Ground School, which is an in-depth, online course that can be completed at one’s own pace. This course covers topics such as the fundamentals of flight and small UAS, aviation safety, ethical airmanship, the National Airspace System, radio communication, and many more important things to know while operating drones and UAS.
Teams can compete in either the Beginner or Advanced divisions, and that year’s challenges rely upon which division the teams register under. Because teams are constantly surpassing all expectations, the competition becomes more complex over time to keep it interesting.
The Beginner division was created to reduce the barrier of entry to the competition and focuses on teaching new pilots the fundamentals of drone operation. The Advanced division challenges experienced teams to modify their airframes to complete various engineering tasks. Each year’s challenges are clearly laid out in the UAS4STEM rule books that teams receive upon registration.
After teams have read through the rule book, completed Ground School, and have built and programmed their drones, they are invited to show off their hard work at the virtual preliminary competition that is held in April. In the past, teams have presented to industry professionals from a variety of organizations, including (but not limited to) the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals, the FAA, Utah State University, and DroneDeploy.
At the time of this writing in December 2024, we had received many applications from interested parties to judge this year’s Flight Readiness Reviews (FRRs). We are ecstatic that there are so many people who are interested in seeing what these young aviation enthusiasts will accomplish. We know that the competitors are equally as excited to meet people with years of flying experience, who will be able to impart useful UAS knowledge to them.
At the virtual preliminaries, teams present their FRRs, which give them a chance to present a system overview of their drone, explain their pre-mission briefing, report any test results that they have acquired throughout their many flights, and show off their mission accomplishments so far in the season.
Teams are also tasked with filming and editing videos that demonstrate the spirit of the UAS4STEM competition. After presenting their FRRs, teams must complete a mission utilizing mission-planning software to demonstrate their drone programming knowledge.
The top-scoring teams—six Beginner teams and six Advanced teams—are invited to compete at the in-person national competition that is held during the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. Teams invited to the nationals will have the chance to complete a wide variety of challenges in-person and present their FRRs once again to new industry professionals from organizations such as Skydio, the FAA Aviation and Space Education Program, NASA, EAA, and more. Teams at the nationals compete for a wide variety of prizes.
Although we haven’t made it to the virtual preliminaries yet, it’s been a very successful start to the season so far. Eighteen brand-new teams had registered to join the competition at the time that this column was written. These teams are from across the US, and we’re delighted to welcome every new competitor to the challenge! We are confident that they have the necessary skills and strong can-do attitudes that will take them far.
Thanks to a generous donation from the AMA Foundation, we were able to offer funding opportunities to five brandnew teams. These funds covered the remaining registration costs for each team (an approximate $1,200 value) and a complete drone kit that fits within the competition specifications. These five teams will join other new and pre-existing teams to compete in the virtual preliminaries in April.
While it is too late to join the UAS4STEM 2024-2025 competition, it’s never too early to start thinking about next season! We would be absolutely delighted to help you get set up with a new team and provide you with all of the information you need to start one. You can check out our UAS4STEM Drone Engineering Challenge New Team Guide, which is just one of the many ways we support all UAS4STEM teams.
If you have any questions or would like to reach out to start your UAS4STEM team, please don’t hesitate to contact us at the email provided in "Sources." We look forward to hearing from you.
SOURCES:
UAS4STEM Drone Engineering Challenge New Team Guide
https://amablog.modelaircraft.org/uas4stem/2024/10/10/new-team-guide-available-now
