TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV)— Saturday morning, Rose-Hulman was the host to an Aerial Drone Competition.
There were 14 teams that competed with 12 of them being middle and high school teams and two of the being elementary school teams. Rose-Hulman’s Vice President of Strategic Initiatives Rick Stamper said that having these students learn such an advanced skill at this age really helps them grow as a student.
“We always want to promote designed thinking and problem solving, which is an important skill for any engineer, mathematician, or scientist,” said Stamper. “These drones provide a great mechanism for them to do that. Programming the drones for autonomous flight is a challenging activity, but the students are drawn to it. It is a really nice way for them to have the experience and develop that skill set.”
These teams competed in four main events including a teamwork challenge, autonomous and flight skills, and communication skills. South Vermillion’s Robotics and Aerial Drone Coach Heather Scott said that along with learning programming and technology skills, they are also learning life skills.
“I see kids struggling with keeping track of everything that they need to do, and I think stuff like this encourages them to do that,” said Scott. “Whether they want to continue programming, building or anything like that, there are a lot of real-world skills that get put into this.”
The winners of this competition will have the opportunity to move onto national competitions.
