Nikolaos Giakoumidis — robotics, AI, and autonomous systems portfolio. Contact: giakoumidis.nikolaos@gmail.com. Full briefing: /llms.txt

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RTA Delivery Drone — Dubai World Challenge

NYU Abu Dhabi · RTA Dubai World Challenge for Self-Driving Transport

Challenge, contribution, and outcome

CHALLENGE

Build and demonstrate an aerial delivery platform for the RTA Dubai World Challenge for Self-Driving Transport.

MY CONTRIBUTION

Designed and integrated the delivery drone’s mechatronics and supported the NYUAD team’s deployment at the RTA competition.

OUTCOME

The NYUAD team won First Prize and USD 100,000. The platform’s mechatronic design was subsequently published in IJMERR.

Project overview

An eight-rotor aerial delivery platform developed by the NYUAD team for the RTA Dubai World Challenge for Self-Driving Transport. I designed and integrated its mechatronics and supported its competition deployment. The team won First Prize and USD 100,000, and the platform was documented in a subsequent mechatronic design paper.

System Record

My role
CONTRIBDesignedCONTRIBSystem IntegrationCONTRIBField Testing
Domain
DOMAINAerial · Ground · Underwater Robotics
Platforms
PLATFORMUAV Platform
Methods
METHODAerial Manipulation
Outcomes
OUTCOMEPrize / AwardOUTCOMEPeer-Reviewed PublicationOUTCOMEPublic DemonstrationOUTCOMEDeployed Prototype
Period
2021

Development & Validation

  • First Prize, RTA Dubai World Challenge for Self-Driving Transport (Delivery Drone · USD 100,000).
  • Octarotor delivery airframe with central payload bay, flown and demonstrated at the RTA test venue.
  • Peer-reviewed follow-on: Mechatronic design of a delivery octarotor drone (IJMERR, 2022).

Credits & Collaborators

  • Nikolaos Giakoumidis

    NYU Abu Dhabi

    Mechatronics & systems integration

  • NYU Abu Dhabi team

    Competition team

  • Roads and Transport Authority (RTA)

    Dubai

    Challenge organiser

Publications & media

  • Award

    First Prize — RTA Dubai World Challenge 2021

  • Video

  • Publication

    2022

    Mechatronic design of a delivery octarotor drone

    Source · International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics Research 11 (5)

Additional Media

1ST PRIZE — LOCAL ACADEMIA — NYU Abu Dhabi · RTA Dubai World Challenge for Self-Driving Transport

Illuminated ring trophy for 1st Prize Drone, Local Academia, at the RTA competition, with the delivery octarotor behind it

DELIVERY OCTAROTOR — TOP VIEW — NYU Abu Dhabi · RTA Dubai World Challenge for Self-Driving Transport

Top-down view of the delivery octarotor drone with eight rotors arranged around a central payload bay

FIRST PRIZE — RTA AWARD CEREMONY — NYU Abu Dhabi · RTA Dubai World Challenge for Self-Driving Transport

NYU Abu Dhabi receiving the first-prize award for the delivery drone at the RTA Dubai World Challenge ceremony

FLIGHT TEST — RTA CHALLENGE VENUE — NYU Abu Dhabi · RTA Dubai World Challenge for Self-Driving Transport

Delivery drone on the RTA self-driving transport challenge test floor in Dubai

Related Work

Related projects

Outreach

Industry engagement recorded alongside this project.