Team PakShaheens hoisting the trophy.
A team helmed by Fulbrighter Adeel Yousaf won first place at the International Free Mission Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Competition. Organized under the banner of TEKNOFEST – one of the biggest tech events of the world – the contest was held in Bursa, Turkey, in September 2021. Over 240 teams from across the globe participated. Team PakShaheens, sponsored by Aero Vizion Technologies in Islamabad, competed against groups from Poland, Indonesia, and Turkey.
An impressive victory
Their winning project, which bagged the top prize, presented an efficient solution to perform Human Search and Rescue (SAR) operations through a swarm of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) equipped with onboard Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based capabilities for optimized path planning and human detection. The synergized working mechanism of UAVs equipped with onboard AI capability offers a more cost-effective, compact, and responsive solution, as compared to the conventional use of helicopters. Its applications include surveillance and reconnaissance, search and rescue missions, terrain mapping and aerial survey, agricultural and environmental research, and package delivery services.
Yousaf, who led Team PakShaheens, is currently pursuing his PhD in Computer Engineering from the University of Central Florida on a Fulbright scholarship.
