Apr 13, 2016 | By Tess
Local Motors, the Phoenix, Arizona-based car manufacturing company that last year brought us the world’s first 3D printed car, has recently announced that it has partnered with Airbus Group, one of the world’s leaders in aeronautics and space services to launch a worldwide co-creation challenge aimed at advancing the development of commercial drones.
The challenge, which is inviting both amateurs and professionals alike to help design and innovate the “next generation of commercial drone technology”, was inspired by the need to have better more efficient means of transporting medical supplies in times of great need or to remote areas.
Local Motors CEO Jay Rogers said, “As Local Motors and Airbus Group progress in this challenge, we expect our co-creation community to deliver the kind of amazing ideas that helped us build the world’s first co-created vehicle and 3D-printed car. As we harness the power of the crowd, Airbus will have the ability to iterate on commercial drones faster than ever before. This will be a much-needed shot in the arm for civil drone development.”
The challenge, which was officially launched yesterday, consists of a number of co-creation activities and challenges, as well as online competitions, open-source projects and hackathons, which will hopefully result in some real innovative designs. The first leg of the Airbus Cargo Drone Challenge is dedicated to finding designs for a drone aircraft capable not only of a vertical takeoff and landing, but also of fixed wing forward flight. If you are interested in getting involved, here are a few basic guidelines to follow in the challenge’s first step: the drone must weigh less than 25 kg, it must be able to travel with 5kg payload at minimum 60km or 3kg at minimum 100km, it must also be an electric, battery run aircraft.
“The Challenge initiative is really exciting and we are eager to see how the power of co-creation can accelerate new, innovative thinking around commercial drones,” said Jana Rosenmann, Head of Unmanned Aerial Systems within Airbus Group.
The first stage of the Airbus Cargo Drone co-creation challenge will run until June 5, 2016, after which each entry will be evaluated by a panel of expert judges. Though it is unclear whether one or more designs will be awarded prizes, the total prize money available for the challenge will be $117,500 according to a press release. The winning designs will also of course be integrated into Airbus’ industrial program.
Airbus Group and Local Motors will also be joined by a team from Praxis Aerospace Concepts International Inc. (PACI) which will offer the challenge an added expert perspective and specialized technological capabilities dealing with drones. And of course, this goes without saying, but what better way to design and prototype your own drone design than with 3D modeling and printing technologies.
Posted in 3D Printing Events
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Interesting cargo drone project from Sri Lanka http://echelon.lk/home/building-the-ak-47-equivalent-robotic-drone/
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