Two students of Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT) under Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) have won the second ‘National Aerospace Conceptual Design Competition’ (NACDeC II) conducted by the Aeronautical Society of India and IIT-Bombay.

Ashley Mudaliar and Anish Pai, final year aeronautics engineering students of Manipal Institute, who designed a solar-powered HALE (High Altitude Long Endurance) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), emerged winners of the competition.

There were five rounds and 25 participating teams. The final round involved presenting the UAV design to a panel of judges.

A press release by MAHE said that the participating teams were to design an LIDAR-equipped Unmanned High Altitude Platform (LU-HAP) to map coastal habitats, detecting shoreline changes, and generating an accurate digital elevation model of coastal areas for scientific studies.

Mohammad Zuber, faculty mentor, said the teaching-learning process and the environment of experiential learning at Manipal Institute help churn creative enterprise among students. This competition was useful in converting the classroom knowledge into a practical application under the challenging conditions imposed during the competition, he said.

Anish Pai said the team got to learn the many aspects of designing a solar-powered UAV. Ashley Mudaliar said the competition helped them improve their skills and knowledge.

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