While the UAS competition involves a lot of engineering, programming and tech, the CSU 3D-Printed Fixed-Wing Aircraft Competition is all about design and endurance. This competition will test teams’ uniquely designed and 3D-printed planes on the Jesse Owens Track and Field Complex on the CSU LA campus.
This event has three components: the design competition for the most innovative design, the flight competition for the longest duration flight and the simulation competition for performance in a virtual environment.
The Robotics Club is still in the early planning stages for this competition. Though the size and design of their plane is still to be determined, they know it will need to be lightweight to stay in the air for long.
Club members said they’ve received help from both Hartsock in the Fab Lab and the Bakersfield Airplane Radio Control Society (B.A.R.K.S.), which has given them a space to fly their planes until the club receives permission to fly on the CSUB campus. The club also thanked Dr. Jane Dong — dean of the university’s School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering — and fellow NSME supporters Dr. Andrea Medina, Dr. Charles Lam, Jeff Deguia and their faculty adviser Dr. Travis Moore.
In addition to Grijalva and Thomas, the core crew working on the UAS vehicle and 3D-printed plane include Gareth Ogunjobi, Pablo Rodriguez Quinonez, Bailey Schooler and James Odle. The club currently has 33 members signed up, though only a handful have been active so far.
“Hopefully now that it’s the school year again, we’ll have more people,” said Ogunjobi, a junior majoring in electrical engineering. “For the most part, from getting the drone to where we are now, it was just a few of us working over the summer.”
Thomas hopes hearing about the competitions will encourage more people to join the Robotics Club. Whether new members can participate in the UAS and 3D plane builds will depend on their areas of interest and abilities, but the group is always open to other projects beyond the builds for these two competitions.
“If there are more people who want to join the club and give us ideas as to what to work on, I feel like there’s a lot of potential but there are not a lot of people who actually have the time and motivation to want to do a side project,” she said. “If more people came to the club, they could give their own ideas about what they want to build.”
Olivia Arias, a sophomore electrical engineering major, recently joined the club for a drone team meeting. She was new to the group but recognized some members from previous classes they shared. The meeting was the first she heard of the upcoming competitions, but she was happy to help however she could.
“It seems like you guys have a lot of time to figure things out,” she told the other members. “I’m excited. I don’t know how I’ll contribute, but I will!”
Students interested in joining the Robotics Club can visit csub.presence.io/organization/robotics-club for more information.