VLion drone snares second spot

The NUS team was the first runner-up at the international competition

The NUS unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) team, VLion, battled gusty winds and rain to emerge second in the recent International Micro Air Vehicle Competition held in Germany.

The drone, on a challenging firefighting mission, was required to carry a water bottle and drop it at a specified location. According to Team Leader Dr Cui Jinqiang, a research scientist with Temasek Laboratories at NUS, the team chose a more difficult approach ' to have the drone collect water from a pool rather than carry a full bottle of water attached to it prior to take-off. 

Professor Ben Chen from NUS Electrical & Computer Engineering, who leads UAV research at the University said, "Our team's performance in the firefighting mission was a big surprise to everyone!  

Read more about VLion's win and watch video of the drone's performance.