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Representative: Sahil Kale
Position: Team Lead
Email: s3kale@uwaterloo.ca
Organization Summary:
The Waterloo Aerial Robotics Group (WARG) is a team of passionate students developing autonomous aerial vehicles capable of performing various tasks.
With WARG our main priority is student learning. Two of our current projects are Project VANGUARD and ZeroPilot. Project VANGUARD involves students in a multitude of tasks such as protoyping, designing both the physical aircraft and the code that runs it. ZeroPilot is our own custom-built autopilot system. This great experience for students gives them hands-on experience on how to set up a first-person autopilot system, which isn't something that every student gets to say about their university experience. Our ZeroPilot system is reinforced by a Computer Vision system that provides perception to our drone, allowing us to detect objects and read QR codes to provide autonomous flight. Our computer vision system gives our team members experience with industry-standard computer vision software.
With the university opening back up, WARG will be competing in the annual Unmanned Systems Canada Student Competition this May.
This term, we are currently working on prototypes and test runs in preparation for the competition. This year has shown that we must be able to adapt to different scenarios and situations. There was a lot to be learned this year. With the university opening again, more people are in person, and we are looking to take advantage of this opportunity to work with our team in an in-person environment, providing our students with a hands-on experience in building and operating a cutting-edge unmanned aircraft. WARG will be competing in the annual Unmanned Systems Canada Student Competition this May, a national competition bringing together 8 universities and countless industry leaders. We intend to bring 10-15 members from our various sub-teams to represent UW Engineering. We are asking for sponsorship in order to cover the costs incurred from our team competing on a national level. This term, we are currently developing and testing in preparation for the competition. Whether we fail or succeed in the competition, we want to ensure that our students have technical skills and memorable experiences that they can be proud of. Building a cutting-edge aircraft and representing UW Engineering at a national level is an impactful endeavour for the university and an unforgettable experience for our students, and we hope the Dean’s Office will help us make this possible. During this season we will need money to fund our various activities. We are currently in the process of creating our aircraft for this upcoming 2022 competition.
Currently, we have 3 things that we need funding for in order to create this aircraft. We need funding for the following:
RC Communications and Control
Mechanical Tooling
Firmware Tooling
All of these things require money for the prototyping stage as well as for the manufacturing and designing stages. EngSoc sponsorship will allow us to continue through these processes and in addition supplement student learning. With your support, we can achieve the goals that we set out for this year that are all in lead up to the 2022 Unmanned Systems Canada Student Competition.
Benefits to Engineering:
In WARG our main priority is student learning. As an engineering team of 42 students from Engineering, Maths, and Arts faculties. We’ve got a huge focus on mentorship - we use our tools and knowledge that our sponsors help make possible to give to host workshops to members both in our team and to the greater Student Design Centre.
Two of our current projects include Project VANGUARD and ZeroPilot. Project VANGUARD is the current quadcopter that students are currently constructing. They get to be involved in making the prototypes, designing, testing as well as coding aspect for this. Our mechanical team is building hands-on experience with custom development, fabrication and validation of an air-frame. To fly the aircraft, we’re planning to use an off-the-shelf remote control and communications system to ensure reliable control. Further, we’re building custom firmware for data acquisition and flight management. To build these systems, we’d like to use industry-standard technologies to maximize the learning opportunities for our team members.
Since the University is opening again there are more opportunities for students to work and learn about things hands-on. With EngSoc being a financial contributor to WARG we are very grateful for the support that they have continued to give us every year.
Purchase Timeline:
WARG intends to purchase all items being asked for sponsorship within a month of confirmation of funds as they will be required for our competition in May 2022.