Manipal July 07^th, 2022: Project MANAS, a Students’ Major Project Team at MIT, MAHE, specializing in AI and Robotics, bagged an overall rank of 18th amongst 71 teams competing across the globe in the event, AUVSI SUAS - 2022 (Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International Student Unmanned Aerial Systems – 2022) held at St. Mary's, Maryland, USA, during 15th -18th June 2022.

AUVSI SUAS is held annually, since 2002 and requires students to design, integrate, report on, and demonstrate an Unmanned Aerial system i.e., a Drone, capable of autonomous flight and navigation, remote sensing via onboard payload sensors, and execution of a specific set of tasks. 

With this being their first attempt at the competition, Project MANAS completed the mission demonstration, and their performance was highly appreciated by the competition authorities and judges. Project MANAS achieved 2^nd Rank in Flight Readiness Review, 18^th Rank in Mission Demonstration, and 10^th Rank in Technical Design Report.

The 6 feet wide UAS (Unmanned Aerial System), i.e., a Drone developed by the team carried out the entire mission in autonomous mode, i.e., without human intervention. Radio Frequency Device (RFD) was used to navigate the flight of the Drone, only in the manual mode. This was their mission task at the event.

Speaking about the achievement of Project MANAS Lt. Gen (Dr). M.D. Venkatesh, Vice Chancellor, Manipal Academy of Higher Education said, “We are extremely proud and delighted of Project MANAS team’s accomplishment. Their efforts in completing the mission demonstration and achieving 18th rank globally are testament of their talent and commitment. We at MAHE congratulate them and wish them all the very best for their future endeavors.”

Cdr. (Dr.) Anil Rana, Director, Manipal Institute of Technology, MAHE said “Project MANAS and its members have showcased Indian talent at a global stage in the field of AI and Robotics. We are happy that they got an excellent learning experience at the event, where they got to learn and apply knowledge in the fields of AI, Image processing, Mechanical Design, Power electronics, Control theory, etc. With their dedication and perseverance, we are sure they will shine in AUVSI SUAS 2023 as well.