Micro Aerial Vehicle Competition The Micro Aerial Vehicle Competition was initiated in 1997 and has been held yearly since then. Hosted by the University of Florida (and more recently co-hosted by Arizona State University), the competition challenges its participants to design, build, and fly the SMALLEST aircraft that can perform the following mission: Fly to and photograph a 1.5 meter size symbol on the ground located 600 meters (2000 feet) from the launch site and hidden from view by a square enclosing fence 3.5 meters wide and 1.5 meter high. Provide a legible image of the symbol to the competition judges at the launch site. The size of the vehicle is defined as the largest linear dimension, that is, the largest distance between any two points located on the aircraft while it is airborne. The size of the entries which completed the mission since 1997 is shown in the figure below. For details about the MAV Competitions, visit the MAV Competition web pages from the University of Florida, Arizona State University, and Brigham Young University. A Brief Pictorial History of the MAV Competitions 2001 Competition 2000 Competition 1999 Competition 1998 Competition 1997 Competition NOTE: Pictures and videos marked with a * were not taken at the competition. 2001 Nine teams, including two from Korea, were present on Saturday, April 7th, 2001 to compete. This year the competition was decisively more intense as almost every team had entries that flew succesfully. The University of Florida came victorious in the surveillance mission with a 7.65" aircraft. The University of Notre Dame completed the mission with an 8.5" airplane and came in at second place. Brigham-Young Univ. came in at third place after completing the mission with a 12" MAV. University of Florida (First Place)     1 2 3     1-4. University of Florida 7.65-inch aircraft (also visit the University of Florida's Micro Air Vehicle Research web site) University of Notre Dame (Second Place)     1 2 3 University of Notre Dame's 8.5 inch MAV UND's MAV tipping the scale at 96 grams, ready to do the mission Freeze-frame of target acquired by ND airplane University of Notre Dame's winning flight (7 second clip, 1.9 MB). It's hard to see the target in this clip. See the picture above for a freeze-frame of the target. Brigham-Young University (Third Place) University of Arizona Konkuk University, Korea Penn State University California Polytechnic State University Worcester Polytechnic Institute Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) 2000 The MAV competition for the year 2000 has been the most succesful to date. Nine teams registered to participate but only six teams actually competed. Most teams had problems due to the higher altitude of Fort Huachuca, AZ. Only the University of Florida and the Virginia Tech teams were able to consistently fly despite engine problems experience by all teams. The competition was won decisively by the University of Florida with an entry of maximum dimension equal to 10 inches. The Florida team was the only one able to complete the mission. So how did the University of Notre Dame do in their first MAV Competition? University of Florida (Winner)       1 2 3 4     1-4. University of Florida 10-inch aircraft (also visit the University of Florida's Micro Air Vehicle Research web site) You can also watch a video of UF's entry being launched (15 second clip, 1.3 MB, courtesy Arizona State University) University of Notre Dame       1 2 3* 4* University of Notre Dame MAV Team with their MAVs ND MAV at the competition, Chiara Kruse pictured (Courtesy Arizona State University) ND's aircraft (9.75 inches) ND MAV in flight Virginia Tech   1 2     1-2. Virginia Tech's 13-inch MAV (Courtesy Arizona State University) You can also watch a video of Virginia Tech's entry being launched (15 second clip, 1.3 MB, courtesy Arizona State University) Arizona State University   1 2     1-2. Arizona State University's electric-powered aircraft (Photo 2 courtesy of Arizona State University) Brigham-Young University   1 2     1-2. Brigham-Young University airplane (Photo 2 courtesy of Arizona State University) Konkuk University (Korea)   1 2 Konkuk University (Korea) full-carbon-fiber MAV Konkuk's dvanced ground communication station 1999 The 1999 competition featured two university entries: the University of Florida and Arizona State University. The competition was won by the University of Florida with a 12-inch aircraft. ASU's entry was unable to complete the mission. University of Florida (Winner)   1 2 The University of Florida 12-inch entry (Picture from The Florida Engineer magazine, Univ. of Florida research publication) Target acquired by UF You can also watch a video of the winning flight taken from the camera of UF's MAV (1.5 minute clip, 16.0 MB!!!, from Domenico Ruggiero's site). Arizona State University   1* 2*     1-2. Arizona State University's entry (Pictures from ASU's MAVRIC MAV site) 1998 The 1998 competition featured only two entries: one university team (University of Florida) and one company team (MLB Company). The competition was once again won by Dr. Steve Morris of MLB Company with a 14.5-inch circular aircraft. The University of Florida's 15.8-inch tail-less biplane entry was unable to complete the mission. MLB Company (Winner)     1 2 3 MLB Co.'s entry (14.5 inches) (Picture from MLB Co. site) Catapult launch of aircraft (Picture from Jacksonville Times Union site) Target acquired by MLB's entry (Picture from MLB Co. site) University of Florida     1* 2 3 The University of Florida 15.8-inch "UFO" Launch of "UFO" at competition (Picture from Jacksonville Times Union site) Catapult system (Picture from Jacksonville Times Union site) 1997 The 1997 competition featured four university teams and one company team. The entries were small radio-controlled airplanes rather than true micro aerial vehicles. The technology available at the time did not permit the miniaturization of the aircraft to the "micro" level. The competition was officially won by Dr. Steve Morris of MLB Company with a 31-inch aircraft. The University of Florida entry was the smallest to complete the mission (26 inches); however, the design-optimization report accompanying the UF entry did not meet the requirements set forth by the judging panel. The Mississippi State University's 26-inch entry won first place for its multidisciplinary design optimization report but unfortunately had a mishap during launch and was unable to complete the mission. The team from the University of California at Santa Barbara attempted several flights with its 48-inch aircraft but was unable to capture the target. MLB Company (Winner) 1 2 3 MLB Co.'s "Scout" airplane (31 inches) (Picture from ISSMO MAV site) Launch by Dr. Steve Morris (Picture from Explore magazine, Univ. of Florida research publication) Target acquired by "Scout" (Picture from MLB Company site) University of Florida 1* 2* 3 The University of Florida 26-inch "Peanut" aircraft (Picture from Explore magazine, Univ. of Florida research publication) Another view of "Peanut" Launch of "Peanut" at competition (Picture from ISSMO MAV site) Mississippi State University 1* 2 3* 4* The Mississippi State University 26-inch biplane (Picture from MSU MAV site) Another view of MSU's biplane at the competition (Picture from ISSMO MAV site) Launch of MSU's aircraft from a moving pick-up truck (Picture from MSU MAV site) MSU's airplane in flight (Picture from MSU MAV site) You can also watch a video of a fly-by* of this aircraft (18 second clip, 1.0 MB, from MSU MAV site). University of California at Santa Barbara 1 2 The University of California at Santa Barbara entry (48 inches) (Picture from Explore magazine, Univ. of Florida research publication) Another view of the UCSB aircraft (Picture from ISSMO MAV site) Home Members MAV Competition Notre Dame MAV Design MAV Research Photos & Video Resources