Supported by the REC Foundation, The Aerial Drone Competition offers an exciting educational drone sporting event that focuses on hands-on, student-centered learning.
Teams learn about drones, flight principles, programming, documentation, and communication skills while expanding their understanding and building interest for Drone-related workforce and career opportunities.
The Aerial Drone Competition is designed for middle and high school students. We do have some upper elementary students successfully competing as a middle school team (grades 4-6). See the game manual for exact rules on ages.
We recommend 3-5 students per team. Each team has one drone.
A school or organization can register multiple teams to accommodate student interest. Each school/organization registers a base number, such as 1234, and each team within that base number has a letter, such as 1234A, 1234B, etc.. A base number can support up to 22 teams from a single organization.
This can vary from program to program based on resources and age of the students. A typical team will practice 2 - 4 hours per week after school.
Visit RobotEvents.com to register.
The first team to register for a base number is $200.00 (US). Additional teams may be added to the original base number for an additional cost of $150.00 (US) each. After 4 additional teams have been added to the same base number, registrations for teams 5-22 are free for that base number.
Aerial Drone Competition is a developing program at the REC Foundation, and we are growing nationwide. We encourage you to check RobotEvents.com for the latest events. As this season gets underway, new teams and events will continue to be added. Please reach out to the program manager at Drones@roboticseducation.org to discuss development in your area.
A Drone, controller, a computer for programming, and spare parts (batteries, motors, propellers).
For the 2022-2023 Season, there are 2 legal drones: the CoDrone EDU and the Parrot Mambo.
The CoDrone EDU can be ordered from Robolink for $214.99. The Parrot Mambo has been discontinued and is out of stock.
Our Partners at Robolink, will have an 889 complaint drone ready for the 2023-2024 Season.
You can purchase field and game elements from Drone Competition Gates.
The field elements (Arch Gates, Keyhole Gates, and Landing Pads) will be used from year to year. Each year we will reveal a new game that will include different game elements; therefore, new game elements will need to be purchased each year by the team/organization.
The Mission 2023: Blackout Game Manual is posted on the REC Foundation Aerial Drone Competition Page. Teams have the opportunity to ask for official rule interpretations and clarifications on the Official Q&A, which is an extension of the Game Manual.
2022-2023 Aerial Drone Competition - Timeline
The Aerial Drone Competition includes three competitions at one event!
Competitions typically take place on a Saturday and run from approximately 8am - 4pm. Some areas also have a league format where teams meet 4-5 times after school over a period of time to compete (typically two months).
Once you are registered with the REC Foundation, the fee to attend a local competition varies by state and region. Typically attendance fees for a competition range from $50 - $100 per team. Championship events may be more. Please visit RobotEvents.com to determine the cost of each event in your region.
There are currently 4 Championship events planned for the Mission 2023 Blackout Season.
Date | Championship Name | Hosted By | Location |
---|---|---|---|
April 15-16 | Perseverance | TX-924 Air Force JROTC | Kempner High School Sugar Land, Texas |
April 21-22 | Opportunity | Mississippi National Guard | 172nd AirwingJackson Air National Guard BaseFlowood, Mississippi |
May 13-14 | Ingenuity | Kettering University | Connie & Jim John Recreation CenterFlint, Michigan |
May 19-20 | Dragonfly | NASA Independent Verification & Validation (IV&V) Facility Education Resource Center | Fairmont State UniversityFalcon CenterFairmont, West Virginia |
Our team is working hard with teams and event partners nationwide to create the season. At this time, the plan is most events will qualify teams to Aerial Drone Competition Championship events. Click on the Awards tab for the event at RobotEvents.com for details on which spots qualify for Championship events.
Final qualifying spots will be announced on January 6, 2023.
Check out the Aerial Drone Competition Library for additional documentation for Teams, Event Partners, Judges and Volunteers.
Contact the Aerial Drone Program Manager at Drones@roboticseducation.org.