Capture the enemy's flag - while defending your own. With the Swarm Drone Challenge, startup incubator brigkAIR and defense company MBDA brought the principle of the classic terrain game 'capture the flag' to the world of drones. 87 participants from 13 nations took up the challenge and the top five teams were invited to the final at Ingolstadt-Manching Airport, where the Polish group Flying Algorithm triumphed.
How can unmanned systems work together to complete complex tasks as efficiently as possible? The cooperation of drones - on land, at sea and in the air - is attracting increasing attention, not least with regard to military conflicts. This is also the case at Matra BAe Dynamics Aérospatiale, better known as MBDA. Together with brigkAIR, the Bavarian start-up incubator for three-dimensional mobility, the European defense company launched the Swarm Drone Challenge a year ago, with a prize fund of 50,000 euros. Participants were asked to develop concepts and technologies to infiltrate enemy territory with their own UAS swarm, carry out a specific task there and return safely to their own territory, regardless of any unforeseen events. The team that best met the challenge was Flying Algorithm, which, unlike most of their competitors, relied on standard DJI drones. Instead of spending time and resources developing flight systems, the winning team was able to focus on developing and testing AI-based software solutions to optimise swarm behaviour.
> This article was written in cooperation with Drones, the magazine for the drone economy. www.drones-magazin.de
