An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) competition's taking place in Southport at the end of the month, gathering students from 16 universities from across the country. Southport manager of business development Deanna Mitchell gives us an outline.

Deanna Mitchell "It's the Unmanned Systems Canada UAV Student Competition happening at Southport from April 29th to May 1st. They're all college or university students. Mostly electrical engineers or computer engineers. The Unmanned Systems Canada is an association based out of Ottawa. And there are committee members coming out to host the event. They build them from scratch. They have their own software. Some teams actually have two UAVs that they fly at the same time. This is the eighth year of this competition. Every year there there's something new that comes. So, I'm excited to see what will be brought out this year."

She explains the nature of the contest.

"They're getting tested on their precision on mapping. So, it's an agriculture themed competition. They're going to be mapping a farmer's filed, give a report to what would be a simulated customer of how the crop is doing. And then they're actually dropping what's considered to be a probe to take a sample test of the field, but it's going to be a toilet paper roll. And they're going to be tested on the precision of that drop."

Competitors in previous competition (photo courtesy of Southport Aerospace)

Mitchell notes there are two cash prizes to be won, including a written segment and the actual flying.

This is Southport's third opportunity to host the event in the eight years it's been running. Each year an additional challenge is added to the competition. Mitchell says in the first competition they were happy just to see the UAVs actually fly, and many of them didn't. She notes they alternated locations between Alma, Quebec, and Southport each year. Mitchell says she's observed the mapping and reports from the contests each year and says they are significantly advancing each time.

Mitchell says it's also an employment opportunity. Some sponsors include UAV companies throughout the country who'll attend the event. She notes In many instances the students have job interviews afterward. Mitchell says Charles Vidal is the chairman of this competition, and he was a student who currently works in a UAV company in Ottawa.

It's open to the public. You'll be escorted to the flight line and watch the UAVs take off right in front of you. Mitchell adds they're a dot in the sky once they're flying, but students are more than willing to answer your questions, seeing as each team flies 45 minutes giving lots of time to talk to those during their break. Hobbyists or farmers looking to purchase UAVs are all welcome to come to the free event. Transport Canada and Nav Canada on site and will also be available to provide you with the current regulations for flying if you're a hobbyist.

Students ready to dispatch drone (photo courtesy of Southport Aerospace)