This SUAS program is an elite opportunity for students to dive into the world of autonomous aviation and robotics. Participants join a team to design, build, and program an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) to compete in the SUAS (Student Unmanned Aerial Systems) Competition. This program is an extracurricular for those looking to build a high-level portfolio for college applications and careers in aerospace. Success in this challenge provides invaluable exposure to industry giants and the opportunity to network with leaders in the defense and technology sectors.

The challenge is to develop an autonomous system capable of executing a complex "Storm Response" mission. The aircraft must autonomously navigate a series of GPS waypoints, detect and avoid obstacles in real-time, and utilize onboard imaging to identify ground targets. Furthermore, the drone must carry and precisely deploy a payload to a designated location—all while maintaining a weight profile of under 35 lbs. Points are awarded based on the accuracy of autonomous flight, target classification, and the precision of the payload drop. Additional points are awarded for compact sizing and weight. For more information on the challenge, please visit the official SUAS competition website.

We are a rookie team based in Bellevue, Washington. We currently have 5 team members from various middle and high schools. Our team is split into three subteams: hardware, software, and outreach. We are one of less than 10 high school teams competing in SUAS this year.

We use a Pixhawk 6X flight controller, standalone ESCs powered by either a high-capacity lithium polymer battery or three smaller batteries, a DJI video transmission system, a NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano for image processing, and an dual-band Gemini ELRS receiver to maintain a stable connection with the ground controller. The drone frame is machined out of carbon fiber to ensure the best strength-to-weight ratio, which increases the flight time.