Team Bath Drones

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about us

Team Bath Drones is a group of final year undergraduate engineers at the University of Bath working to create the ultimate autonomous Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs) and were the overall grand champions of the IMechE UAS Challenge 2017, as well as winning the prize for the most Innovative design in 2018. Led by a team of final year undergraduate students and supervised by Dr Pejman Iravani, Dr Jon du Bois and Dr David Cleaver, the team has interdisciplinary expertise in aeronautical, mechanical and electrical engineering.

Building on the success of previous teams, we are developing our new drone, an autonomous hybrid VTOL aircraft which offers long range, precise payload delivery capability thanks to its aerodynamically efficient design incorporating intellegent sensing and control systems.

The Team

Sam Hyams

Structures Optimisation
Project Manager

Joe Bean

Transition Modelling
Purchasing

Arron Dunne

Ducted Fan Optimisation
Operations

James Male

Novel Actuator Technology
IMechE Liason

Michael Morris

Machine Learning & Transition
Sponsorship

James Oliver

Thrust Vectoring
Lab Manager

Alex Upcott Gill

Tilt-Rotor Control
Engagement

Our Supervisors

Dr. Pejman Iravani

Dr. David Cleaver

Dr. Jon du Bois

Our Story

The journey so far...

2015

Stingray

The first Team Bath Drones aircraft was Stingray, an autonomous blended wing body aircraft with a V-tail. With a top speed of 60kts, Stingray was able to quickly and accurately deliver humanitarian aid to autonomously identified targets over a range of 10 nautical miles.
2016

Sky Seeker

Sky Seeker was a flying wing aircraft that competed in the IMechE UAS Challenge 2016. Designed with simplicity and aerodynamic efficiency in mind, Sky Seeker was able to autonomously identify targets and deliver its payload accurately over great distances.
2017

Artemis

Artemis was the Team Bath Drones aircraft for 2017. The design featured steerable landing gear, multifunctional drag rudder/airbrakes and a modular propulsion system. Its aerodynamic efficiency, intelligent control systems and lightweight structure allow it to deliver its 2kg payload fully autonomously with incredible ease and speed, making it the winning aircraft at the IMechE UAS Challenge 2017.
2018

Icarus

Icarus was the 2018 entry for Team Bath Drones to the IMechE UAS Challenge. Building on the success of Artemis, Icarus featured a twin rotor design for yaw control and a dolly launch system. Increases in the structural and aerodynamic efficiencies meant that Icarus had a payload fraction of 100%, allowing it to carry a 3.5kg payload with ease. With these new design features, Icarus won the Innovation prize.
2019

Our new aircraft is under development. Please stay in touch with us through our social media and we will bring you the most up-to-date information.
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