Dean Proposal

A short overview description of the team and what you hope to achieve and/or promote. Tell us why you think the Dean would be a beneficial sponsor to your group.

1. 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, 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.

A profile of the team membership/makeup - i.e. number of participating students by their department.

1. TRON - 10
   SE - 3
   ECE - 10
   CS - 2
   MATH - 1
   SYDE - 2
   MECH - 2
   CFM - 1
   BME - 1

A budget, all sponsorship sources and amounts secured elsewhere (e.g. department). What would be your fair estimate of the Dean's contribution?

1. Other sponsors:
   Asana - 1000
   VectorNav - 5000
   Keysight - 10000
   Cisco - 1000
   Solidworks - 5000
   EngSoc - 2000
   WEEF - 10000

   Budget:

   1. Competition Expenses - 7500

   2. Vehicle construction Expenses - 9000

We're hoping that the Dean will contribute the portion of our budget relating to competition costs, and we're asking for 7500 to cover the costs of competing in the Unmanned Systems Canada Student Competition this May.

Cost Breakdown of Competition Expenses:

Total : 7500

If your request is granted, arrangements will be made immediately for your group to receive the Dean's
contribution. The contribution can be handled in one of two ways i) transferred into a departmental account [please include the account number and/or the department contact person], or ii) a cheque can be made payable to the team, and must include the full on-campus mailing address. Please indicate your preference.

1. Account number: 10021-10221