FLY. AUTOMATE.
PROVE YOUR MISSION.
From autonomous rescue to precision delivery — build, test, and present a working drone concept.
Why the Drone Expo Works
Four principles behind every idea in this arena.
Real autonomy
Teams show sensing, planning, decision-making, and safe flight control instead of only manual flying.
High demo value
Search, landing, mapping, or inspection missions are easy for judges to understand and evaluate.
Scalable difficulty
Ideas work as beginner indoor demos, intermediate waypoint missions, or advanced AI autonomy builds.
Useful applications
Every concept connects to rescue, delivery, inspection, agriculture, mapping, or event safety.
What Teams Walk Away With
Five mission tracks teams can build inside across the expo.
Search & Rescue
Autonomous scan routes, target detection, and location alert dashboards.
Precision Delivery
Marker-based landing, payload release, and measurable landing accuracy.
Swarm Mapping
Multi-drone simulation, area coverage, and shared mission dashboards.
GPS Inspection
Waypoint planning, telemetry evidence, return-to-home, and geofence safety.
Indoor Safety Demo
Programmable mini-drone flight, marker detection, and basic obstacle reactions.
Who Can Participate
Standard eligibility rules for the Autonomous Drone Project Expo.
Academic Level
Open to all students from any branch and any year of study.
Team Size
Maximum 5 members per team; solo entries are also welcome.
Project Choice
Pick one of the 5 official autonomous drone ideas, or propose a closely related drone project.
Build Deadline
Working demo, simulation, or tested prototype must be ready before 30th August.
Registration
Submit team details, selected idea, safety plan, and elimination PPT through the official website.
Institution
Pan India eligible.
Prize Tiers
Teams can choose the build level that matches their hardware, permissions, and testing time.
From Team Sign-Up to the Final Demo
How every team moves through Techfest.
Team Registration
Register your team of up to 5 on the official website.
Choose Your Idea
Pick one of the 5 drone project ideas and define your build level.
Submit PPT
Upload a 10-slide pitch with problem, solution, and safety.
PPT Evaluation
Judges review feasibility, originality, technical plan, and safety readiness.
Qualify / Disqualify
Results announced before 30th Aug with final-demo instructions.
Final Round · 30th Aug
Present working demo/simulation + PPT live; winners chosen.
Presentation-Only Evaluation
Judged on your submitted presentation; prototype is helpful but not required at this stage.
10-Slide PPT Only
Submit problem, proposed drone solution, mission flow, safety plan, and expected demo output.
Problem
Clearly explain the real-world problem and why autonomous drones are a useful fit.
Feasibility
Show that the idea can be built, simulated, or tested safely before 30th August.
Team Plan
Divide roles across autonomy software, hardware, safety, testing, and presentation.
Result
Qualify or disqualify announced on the official website before 30th Aug.
Evaluation Criteria
How your live demo or simulation is scored on final day.
Innovation & Novelty
Uniqueness of the mission idea, autonomy logic, AI/vision model, and difference from basic remote-control flying.
Technical Execution
Stability of demo or simulation, code quality, sensor integration, testing evidence, and safety controls.
Real-World Impact & Viability
Clarity of real-world use case, measurable results, audience impact, and realistic path from prototype to product.
UI/UX & Presentation
Visual clarity of slides or interface, ease of understanding the mission flow, and overall polish of the delivery.
Team Collaboration & Q&A
Coordination between members, clear ownership of roles, and confident, well-reasoned answers to judges' questions.
Choose Your Mission
Pick one of the 5 official autonomous drone ideas, or propose a closely related project.
Autonomous Search & Rescue Drone
AI drone for scanning a disaster zone and reporting target location evidence.
Description
- Problem: Rescue teams lose time searching large or unsafe areas manually.
- Plan a lawnmower-style search route over a marked rescue zone.
- Use camera, IR, or thermal-style input to detect a person, heat source, or rescue marker.
- Send GPS/simulated coordinates, confidence score, and thumbnail to a laptop dashboard.
- Add obstacle-aware path planning in simulation before real flight testing.
- Focus: fast detection, safe coverage, and clear alert evidence for judges.
Deliverables
- Autonomous scan route or simulation.
- Target detection model with confidence output.
- Live alert dashboard with map/thumbnail evidence.
- Safety plan for low-altitude testing and manual override.
- System architecture and mission pipeline diagram.
- Pitch covering rescue value, users, and deployment limits.
AI Precision Landing & Delivery Drone
Autonomous delivery demo where the drone lands on a marker and releases a light payload.
Description
- Problem: Last-meter delivery needs accurate landing in small or crowded drop zones.
- Place an ArUco or AprilTag-style marker on the landing pad.
- Use onboard or laptop camera input to estimate marker position.
- Guide the autopilot during final descent using landing-target data.
- Release a lightweight payload only after landing or hover confirmation.
- Focus: landing accuracy, payload safety, and repeatable mission execution.
Deliverables
- Marker detection and precision landing demo.
- Payload release mechanism or simulated release proof.
- Landing accuracy measurements across test attempts.
- Geofence, low-altitude, and manual override safety plan.
- System architecture and control-flow diagram.
- Pitch covering delivery use case, costs, and safety limits.
Cooperative Swarm Mapping Drones
Multi-drone project for area coverage, spacing, and shared mapping.
Description
- Problem: Single drones take longer to map large areas and can duplicate coverage.
- Start in PX4 SITL/Gazebo with multiple drone instances before real hardware.
- Assign each drone a sector or waypoint strip to avoid duplicate coverage.
- Show formation spacing, mission progress, and covered grid cells on a dashboard.
- Use one leader/controller node to monitor vehicles and send commands.
- Focus: coordination logic, coverage efficiency, and collision-rule clarity.
Deliverables
- Multi-drone simulation or controlled demonstration.
- Coverage map showing visited grid cells.
- Formation/spacing logic and collision rules.
- Controller node architecture and mission flow.
- Safety and fallback plan for simulation-first judging.
- Pitch covering mapping, agriculture, and inspection use cases.
GPS Waypoint Inspection Drone
Intermediate autonomous route demo with telemetry and inspection evidence.
Description
- Problem: Manual inspection of fields, rooftops, or campus routes is slow and inconsistent.
- Create a route with 4-6 waypoints around a field, model site, or campus path.
- Set altitude, speed, return-to-home, and geofence limits before flight.
- Use QGroundControl or Mission Planner to upload and monitor the mission.
- Capture route evidence using a small camera or phone mount.
- Focus: reliable waypoint completion, telemetry proof, and safe return.
Deliverables
- Saved mission file and planned route screenshot.
- Autonomous waypoint flight or simulation video.
- Telemetry evidence for altitude, path, and return.
- Geofence, RTH, and permission/safety checklist.
- System architecture and inspection workflow diagram.
- Pitch covering inspection customers and repeat-use value.
Programmable Mini Drone Safety Demo
Beginner indoor demo using coded flight and simple safety behavior.
Description
- Problem: New teams need a safe, low-cost way to prove drone autonomy indoors.
- Use a Tello-style mini drone for indoor testing without heavy hardware.
- Write Python commands for takeoff, square path, hover, and landing.
- Optionally detect a printed marker or colored landing zone using camera frames.
- Add simple obstacle rules: stop, back up, or turn when a trigger appears.
- Focus: clean rehearsal, safe boundaries, and visible coded behavior.
Deliverables
- Scripted indoor flight sequence.
- Safety trigger or marker-detection behavior.
- Command logs and video proof for judging.
- Indoor test plan with safe distance and propeller precautions.
- Simple architecture showing commands, camera, and drone response.
- Pitch covering education, safety training, and quick prototyping.
Ready for Takeoff
Choose one main idea, keep one backup route, and test safely before Techfest. Build · Simulate · Test · Present.