Jubilee 10th Droniada with the Silesian University of Technology conference!
Four days of competition, shows and science. The jubilee 10th Droniada is ahead of us. It will take place from 1st to 4th June in Park Śląski and at the Katowice-Muchowiec airport. The Silesian University of Technology will be the co-organizer of the event for the second time.
This year, for the first time, the Droniada Tech by Silesian University of Technology conference will be part of Droniada. It will take place on June 1st and 2nd at the Silesian Planetarium. Among other things, issues related to the way of educating computer scientists in times when advanced programs can be quickly prepared with the help of AI will be discussed. In addition, the first drone war that is taking place in Ukraine will be discussed and how it affects social acceptance for aerial robotics, also in the area of urban mobility based on unmanned machines.
- The main topic, however, will be the positive aspects related to the use of AI in drones and robotics - says Eng. Roman Czyba PhD. DSc., professor at the Silesian University of Technology. - Legal and safety aspects related to the use of drones will also be presented, which do not always appear where they should be.
100 people can participate in the conference. It is still possible to register via the form on the website: www.droniada.eu .
Droniada 2023 under the honorary patronage of the Head of the National Security Bureau will start on June 1st with the traditional Droniada Challenge by Łukasiewicz - Institute of Aviation competition. It is a technological competition, one of the most difficult in the world, combining computer science, mechatronics and robotics with aviation. It is attended by academic and open teams as well as individuals. This year, ten teams will take part in it, which will choose one or more events from five.
The first is the Tree of Life, which tests participants' remote sensing skills using machine learning and automatic selection systems. It also introduces precision farming, including detection of plant disease pathogens and precise dosing of plant protection products.
The second competition is the Pipeline. The teams will test decision support systems in simulated operating conditions of a critical transmission infrastructure facility.
In the third competition - Intruder - the task will be to detect an uninvited guest who is supposed to plant an explosive in the facility.
Another one is the Fly to Rescue Challenge, which is a manual flight along a special track in search of hidden paintings in buckets. In the last competition - Relay - teams will mark a light line up to 400 meters long, using drones to drop glowing beacons, i.e., small capsules with light diodes.
- Participants can choose from four competitions in automatic mode and one special competition in manual mode, i.e., Relay - says Sławomir Kosieliński, President of the Mikromakro Institute Foundation and originator of Droniada. - Teams taking part in automatic competitions must additionally present themselves in the Demo competition of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle system. On the other hand, competitors in the manual competition must pass a quick test of basic pilot skills.
Almost all competitions will be held in Park Śląski. Only the Relay will be held at the Katowice-Muchowiec airport. Participants will compete for cash, honorary, material and paid internships. Last year, the prize pool was 50,000,- PLN.
In the previous two editions of the Droniada Challenge, our students from the science club Highflyers did a great job. Last year, they turned out to be the best in the Relay competition, and two years ago, thanks to winning two competitions, they won the general classification.
The finale of the 10th Droniada - on June 4th at Pola Marsowe in Park Śląski - will be an exhibition of drones and Droniada Expo & Kids shows, which will present the benefits of using flying robots, for example in the field of environmental protection, energy and alleviating social fears.
The admission is free for all.
Martin Huć
