Dr. Derek Kingston of the Air Vehicles Directorate was presented with the Harold Brown award, the highest Air Force award given to a scientist or engineer who applies research to a problem in the field. Recipients are chosen by the Chief Scientist of the Air Force in honor of substantial improvement to the Air Force’s operational effectiveness. (Read Full Article)
BYU's MAGICC Lab entered the AUVSI MAV Competition held at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida on October 28-31, 2006 and placed first in the international competition. The event involved using a Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) outfitted with an autonomous system to image several ground targets at specified GPS locations and then drop a bomb (a paintball) on a specified target. (Read Full Article)
AUVSI, the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, sponsored its fourth annual Student UAV Competition at Webster Field Naval Base, Maryland last week. Of the eighteen undergraduate teams who competed, Brigham Young University placed second, a great accomplishment since it was the first time they competed. (Read Full Article)
PROVO — Brigham Young University students are building small unmanned surveillance planes that could one day be used on the battlefield, in search-and-rescue operations or to track forest fires. BYU professors Randy Beard, left, and Tim McClain, right, in tie, and students show off one of their 3-pound surveillance planes. A video of the planes' daring maneuvers took the grand prize at the Infotech@Aerospace Video Competition, beating out several defense contractors. "We pushed the envelope," McClain says. (Read Full Article)
When the announcer called the overall winner a complete surprise, Tim McLain said his heart started beating faster, realizing the BYU engineering team had won. The first Infotech@Aerospace Video Competition at Arlington, Va., was meant to highlight achievements and advancements in the field of unmanned aircrafts. BYU's engineering team won the grand prize for best video, beating a list of household names including NASA, Boeing and Lockheed-Martin. McLain, a mechanical engineering faculty adviser, said the list of competitors made him uncertain BYU would win the grand prize. (Read Full Article)
