Robolink has partnered with the REC Foundation—the folks behind some of the largest student-centered robotics competitions in the world—for their annual Aerial Drone Competition. It's an exciting and educational drone-sporting event full of piloting challenges and autonomous flight. You can build a team at your school and join a local event to compete for a chance to win at a regional championship event.
Put Your Drone Skills to the Test
Hands-On and Student-Centered
It's more than just a fun event! Team up with your classmates to create a team, and learn all about drone piloting, coding autonomous flight, team collaboration skills, and career opportunities in drones and engineering.
Get a Drone
Get a CoDrone EDU to participate
Get a Game Field
Get the field elements to set up an arena at your school, which are used every year
Visit REC Foundation to Register
Get all the info you need, and register for a local competition at REC Foundation
Get a Classroom Set
Get a set of 10 or more for your team or drone club
Get the Game Elements
Get the game elements for this year's Blackout Mission
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions are originally from REC Foundation's FAQ page
Are there teams/events in my area?
Aerial Drone Competition is a developing program at the REC Foundation and we are growing nationwide. We encourage you to check RobotEvents.com for the latest events. As this season gets underway, new teams and events will continue to be added. Please reach out to the program manager at Drones@roboticseducation.org to discuss your development in your area.
How many students are on a team?
We recommend 3-5 students per team. Each team has one drone.
A school or organization can register multiple teams to accommodate student interest. Each school/organization registers a base number, such as 1234, and each team within that base number has a letter, such as 1234A, 1234B, etc. A base number can support up to 22 teams from a single organization.
How do I register a team and how much does it cost?
Visit RobotEvents.com to register. We offer single and organizational rates:
The first team registered for a base number is $200, additional teams can be added for $150 each, and after 4 teams, additional team registrations are free for that base number.
One team registration is $200
Two (2) teams registration is $350
Three (3) teams registration is $500
Four (4) to Twenty-Two (22) Teams registration is $650 (New for 2022- 2023 Organization Flat Rate)
How much time do teams need to practice?
This can vary program to program based on resources and age of the students. A typical team will practice 2-4 hours per week after school.
What is a competition like?
Here is the Game Manual for this year's challenge. Competitions typically take place on a Saturday and run from approximately 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. Some areas also have a league format where teams meet 4-5 times after school over a period of time to compete (typically two months). The Aerial Drone Competition includes three competitions at one event!
Piloting and Teamwork Competition: An exciting challenge presented in the form of a game that changes each year. For the 2022-2023 Season, Four drones made up of two alliances fly around the field to score as many points as possible. The object of the game is to attain a higher score than the opposing alliance. The 2022-2023 Game Rules will be revealed in September 2022.
Autonomous Flight Competition: One team competes against the clock to score as many points in a 1 minute match. Students will program their drones to score points entirely autonomously.
Judging: Students showcase their workforce development skills through teamwork, critical thinking, project management, and communication skills required to prepare them to become the next generation of innovators and problem solvers. Teams will be interviewed by judges and submit their documentation for evaluation.
Does the field and game change each year?
The field elements (Arch Gates, Keyhole Gates and Landing Pads) will be the same every year, so you only need one set. Each year we will reveal a new game that will include different game elements, therefore new game elements will need to be purchased each year.
Which Robolink drones are approved for the Aerial Drone Competition?
Only our CoDrone EDU is approved for the Aerial Drone Competition. The CoDrone Pro and the CoDrone Mini can't be used for the Aerial Drone Competition, unfortunately.