Students from around the world compete in international drone competition in Tulsa

TULSA, Okla. — Students from universities and high schools around the world are in Tulsa this week for an international drone flying competition at Skyway Range.

More than 80 teams are competing in challenges that require them to complete drone flights, locate manikins and render aid, conduct safety checks and more. Students participating don't take the competition lightly.

“We have build nights every Friday from 3 to 6 p.m.,” said Yu Tane, a student from STEM Magnet High School in Washington state. “We have admin meetings on Wednesday mornings starting at 7:30 a.m. where we go over general information. We also do a lot outside of school."
Another student, Akanksha, says the preparation takes work.

“We have 11 p.m. nights where people stay at each other’s houses working on competition projects because we don’t have school-allotted time,” Akanksha said.

The competition is organized by RoboNation, a nonprofit focused on hands-on robotics and STEM education alongside Tulsa's Innovation Lab.

The organization previously hosted its annual drone competition in Maryland, but organizers said moving the event to Tulsa this year was a no brainer.

“At the end of our competition in Southern Maryland last year, we were looking for a new home,” said Alicia Gavin, RoboNation’s director of communications. “The main thing was finding a partner that cares about technology as much as we do and is excited to welcome our students."

According to Gavin, Tulsa quickly rose to the top of this list of potential locations.

For smaller teams like the one from Washington, making it to the competition is an accomplishment.

“We feel extra blessed that we were able to make it this far because we’re one of only three high schools currently in the flight order,” Akanksha said. “Compared to all the universities, we don’t have the manpower. We only have four team members, no funding, and everything is paid out of pocket."

"We also don’t have a lab of our own, so we do everything ourselves in our school’s wood shop.”

The competition runs September 14 to 17 in Tulsa.