AGH Solar Plane comes fifth in SUAS 2026

This year, the largest international student competition for unmanned aerial systems took place from 14 to 17 September 2026 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the United States. The participants’ task was to perform a fully autonomous mission that involved flying along a designated route, avoiding obstacles, mapping the terrain, automatically detecting and classifying ground targets using artificial intelligence, and dropping a payload into a designated zone. The requirements regarding weight, dimensions, and design specifications are known before the competition, which is why the students begin the preparations for the event several months in advance. 

The competition began with technical inspection, whilst the following days were filled with mission tasks. 

Rico completed the maximum number of laps, flying a distance of more than 30 kilometres. However, due to high temperatures and the on-board computer overheating, the team was unable to carry out the mapping and detection work. 

For its part, the drone team performed its tasks perfectly. After completing one lap, it carried out the mapping task, detected one of the objects, and dropped a distress beacon. Unfortunately, on the second day, our representatives had to deal with technical issues related to electronics. In the end, they managed to finish fifth out of more than 60 teams from all over the world.

Participation in SUAS 2026 was made possible by funding from the Rector’s Grant programme, awarded under the “Student Research Clubs Create Innovation” initiative of the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education, as well as support from the ORLEN Foundation.