Launching UAV Innovation Competition for students

The competition not only aims to find effective UAV application solutions in practice but also contributes to promoting research, invention and commercialization of domestic UAV products, towards building a sustainable UAV ecosystem in Vietnam.

Associate Professor, Dr. Han Trong Thanh, Deputy Director of the Institute of Space and Underwater Technology Research, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, answered reporters' questions about issues related to the contest.

On the morning of September 9, in Hanoi, the Institute of Space and Underwater Technology Research - Hanoi University of Science and Technology and PetroVietnam Gas Joint Stock Corporation (PV GAS) officially launched the PV GAS 2025 UAV Cup Innovation Contest with the theme "Homeland's Sky".

In the context of the 4.0 industrial revolution taking place strongly, many countries in the world have been investing on a large scale in developing the low-altitude economy - an emerging concept based on the application of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and smart technology in the space environment.

These technologies are becoming mainstays in many industries, from autonomous delivery, agricultural monitoring, search and rescue, emergency medical transport to manufacturing automation and environmental control.

UAVs are not simply high-tech devices, but are also opening up almost unlimited potential in replacing humans in performing dangerous jobs, in toxic or harsh environments, contributing to solving global challenges and improving the quality of life.

Dr. Nguyen Dinh Van, Lecturer at the School of Electrical and Electronics, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, presented the rules and simulated the competition field.

Many countries have identified this field as an important part of their economic-defense development strategy and response to climate change, natural disasters, epidemics, etc.

In Vietnam, the Party and State have clearly identified the role of science, technology and innovation as key pillars in national development. Many resolutions and socio-economic development strategies have emphasized the importance of mastering core technology for strategic products such as UAVs, robots, AI cameras, etc.

These policies not only guide but also motivate the connection between "State - School - Enterprise" to create a strong innovation ecosystem, enhancing national competitiveness in the digital age.

The 2025 UAV Innovation Competition is for students from universities, colleges, technical secondary schools and high schools across the country who are passionate about drone technology and automatic control.

The Jury members include prestigious experts, lecturers and researchers from leading universities and research institutes across the country, ensuring fairness, transparency and accuracy in the scoring process, while providing valuable professional comments and suggestions to help the teams perfect and develop their ideas.

The competition's jury includes prestigious experts, lecturers and researchers from leading universities and research institutes across the country.

The Organizing Committee opens the free registration portal on the UAV Innovation Competition 2025 Registration Portal. 32 qualified teams (each team has 3-5 members and 1 instructor) will be divided into 4 groups based on a random draw.

In the qualifying round (December 2-4), teams compete in multiple round-robin matches within their groups to determine the top eight teams in their groups to advance to the Finals (December 6-7) - which will consist of knockout matches in predetermined pairs based on the competition rules.

The competition is built on a realistic simulation model, inspired by missions of refueling, emergency transportation and clean energy supply in smart cities. Teams not only build UAVs but also have to build reasonable tactics, apply positioning technology, sensors, navigation and automatic control to complete a series of missions in a confrontational environment.

Specifically, in each round, teams will deploy autonomous reconnaissance UAVs to survey and detect areas that need energy through sensor cameras or ArUco code scanning, and transmit coordinate data to the control station. Then, deploy an operating UAV (manually controlled) to receive data from the reconnaissance UAV, overcome obstacles, approach the central energy tower, collect the "energy bar" and transport it to the correct designated location.

The prize structure of the contest includes 1 first prize worth 200 million VND; 1 second prize worth 100 million VND; 1 third prize worth 80 million VND and 5 consolation prizes, each worth 30 million VND.

The UAV Innovation Competition 2025 not only aims to find effective UAV application solutions in practice but also contributes to promoting research, invention and commercialization of “Made in Vietnam” UAV products. At the same time, this is also a place to exchange, learn about science, technology and connect investments, towards building a sustainable UAV ecosystem in Vietnam.

VAN TOAN

Source: https://nhandan.vn/phat-dong-cuoc-thi-sang-tao-uav-danh-cho-hoc-sinh-sinh-vien-post906828.html