advanced Navigation has successfully concluded its Student Grant Program for the 2023-24 academic year, designed to inspire and financially support extraordinary engineering students in their educational and professional journeys.
This year’s challenge invited participants to conceptualize an autonomous system aimed at improving human welfare. The prompt led to a variety of groundbreaking proposals, including medical delivery drones, underwater exploration robots, innovative waste management systems, and solutions for cleaning up space debris.
The accolade for this year was awarded to Michael Grieco from Columbia University. His submission was distinguished by its inventive approach and originality, tackling a pressing societal challenge while demonstrating a comprehensive understanding of engineering principles rooted in logic and feasibility.
As a reward, Advanced Navigation will grant Michael $5,000 to aid in his educational pursuits and future engineering career.
Excerpt from Michael’s Award-Winning Essay, “Enhancing Disaster Response with a Satellite-enabled Autonomous Drone System.”
Drawing from my background in satellite navigation and embedded systems, I propose a framework for coordinating autonomous drones that utilize navigation data for effective disaster response. This system would enable drones to swiftly access areas that are hazardous for human intervention, such as regions affected by wildfires, earthquake zones with significant debris, or sites contaminated by nuclear radiation. The autonomous capabilities of these drones would serve as a preliminary guide for subsequent human efforts in containment and search-and-rescue operations.
Explore the complete award-winning essay here >>
