MOTHERSHIP DESIGN TOPS FLYING MACHINE COMPETITION

It took the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) team five weeks to come up with their "mothership-surrogate" concept and construct a prototype. And their hard work paid off when their flying machine clinched the overall champion title for the open category at this year's Singapore Amazing Flying Machine Competition (SAFMC).

The mothership, measuring 1.2m by 1.3m, carries a mini-drone which can be launched in mid-air. With its smaller dimension of 40cm by 30cm, the min-drone is able to navigate tight obstacles.

The three-man SUTD team's machine was the fastest in the mission where it had to fly through a row of pylons, burst a balloon and land in a 2m-by-2m box.

"The small drone can t fly very far .but with a bigger mothership, we extended its flying range, bringing it closer to the objective. And because of its smaller size, the drone can go into the dense jungle for reconnaissance," said team leader Goh Tze Huan, 24, of his team's flying machine concept.

Singapore's largest flying machine competition, the SAFMC comprised five different categories targeted at different age groups:

1) Paper Planes,
2) Unpowered Gliders,
3) Radio-Controlled Flights,
4) Semi-Automatic/Automated Flying Machines and
5) Unconventional Flying Machines (Open).

Participants competed against one another in creating flying machines of varying complexities, according to the category.

Minister of State for Defence Ong Ye Kung gave out the awards to the winners on 19 Mar in a ceremony held at the Singapore Science Centre.

Currently into its eighth year, the competition, organised by DSO National Laboratories and Science Centre Singapore, aims to promote interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics among Singapore's youths.

A record 377 teams comprising 1,333 participants took part in this year's competition. The 14 international teams from Hong Kong and Thailand that joined the competition was also a new record, with the Thai students taking part for the first time.

In his address, Mr Ong highlighted the importance of science and technology to Singapore in the several areas such as defence, satellite communication and traffic management.

For example, over the last 50 years, the Republic's 5,000-strong community of defence engineers and scientists has helped the Singapore Armed Forces to develop a technological edge, and to do more with limited manpower.

In a similar vein, Mr Ong urged the participants -- the nation's future scientists and engineers -- to continue to challenge themselves to find new approaches to solve existing problems in Singapore.

He said: "Many of the flying machines in this hall that we see today feature interesting designs that showcase your creativity and your ingenuity."

"We can push these boundaries further so that some of these machines can be used in the near future to do all kinds of things, (such as) deliver medical supplies in a disaster zone, or deliver daily necessities to the old folks, people who are handicapped."