A team of 9 students (Muhammad Aitessam Ahmed, Hussain Ali, Abdullah Afzal, Shaheer Ul Haque, Hussain Asghar, M. Moaz Khalid, Ali Hassan, Nimra Saeed & Syed Zahid Abbas) from the Institute of Space Technology (IST), Islamabad grabbed 1st position in International Free Mission Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Competition (silver Category) in Turkey, held from 13-18th September 2021, organized under the banner of TEKNOFEST - one of the biggest tech events in the world. The competition was held in Bursa, Turkey, where 240 teams from around the world participated. Team IST - under the supervision of Dr. Abdul Waheed, Head Avionics Engineering Department, and Team Lead Adeel Yousaf, Lecturer Avionics department - bagged 1st position in Silver Category and overall 4th position in the competition. The team from Pakistan competed against groups from Poland, Indonesia and Turkey itself and won a cash prize of 36,000 Turkish Lira. The team was sponsored by Aero Vizion Technologies, Islamabad. The team presented an efficient solution to perform Human Search and Rescue (SAR) operations through a swarm of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) equipped with onboard Artificial Intelligence (AI) based capabilities for optimized path planning and human detection. The cluster of intelligent UAVs working together to search an area for victims from a height of 30-50 meters offers an advanced solution to SAR missions, where every minute plays a critical role in the survival of the victims. The synergized working mechanism of UAVs equipped with onboard AI capability for SAR missions offers a more cost-effective, compact, and responsive solution, as compared to the conventional use of helicopters. Its applications include Surveillance and Reconnaissance, Search and Rescue Missions, Terrain Mapping and Aerial Survey, Agricultural and Environmental Research, and Package Delivery Services.
The Vice Chancellor-Institute of Space Technology, Major General Rehan Abdul Baqi (Retd) gave a reception to the winning team in order to celebrate their success and achievements.