The Leonardo Drone Contest is an Open Innovation challenge designed and launched by Leonardo in collaboration with six Italian universities, to encourage the development of Artificial Intelligence applied to Uncrewed Systems. The aim of the project is to encourage the creation of an innovation ‘ecosystem’ that involves and brings together the capabilities of large companies, universities, small and medium enterprises, and national spin-offs and start-ups.
In particular, Leonardo is supporting the activities of six PhD students (one per university) from the Politecnico of Turin and Milan and from the Universities of Bologna, Sant’Anna of Pisa, Rome Tor Vergata and Federico II of Naples. For three years, these students have been engaged in developing an autonomous drone guidance system, sharing both university and Leonardo resources and knowledge.
For the trial and competition, the six PhD students each had their own multidisciplinary team, made up of students from different courses and levels in the engineering area, where each member enriched their experience through teamwork and by achieving the contest’s objectives.
Launched in 2019, the Leonardo Drone Contest has taken place over a three-year period and consisted of two annual events, a scientific symposium, and a competition. The first two competitions in 2020 and 2021 saw the six universities’ teams challenge each other in increasingly competitive rounds on the ‘airfield' of Leonardo's Turin site. It was a true ‘drone game’, with the level complexity increasing each year.
The 2022 competition takes place on 6 and 7 October and marks the conclusion of this experimental cycle – a final challenge between the six teams and the last chance to snatch ultimate victory and prepare for new adventures.
For any update on the Drone Contest follow Leonardo's Instagram account.
