DJI has announced version 3.0 of its software development kit, or SDK. To help spur developers into working with its SDK, DJI also creates an annual challenge with a cash prize. This year DJI is partnering with Ford and the United Nations to offer $100,000 to the team which builds the best application for launching a drone from moving vehicle as part of a theoretical search-and-rescue mission.
We’ve seen drones deployed for these kind of missions for a few years now, but never launched from a car in motion. In a rapidly shifting and dangerous situation, like a flood, fire, or earthquake, rescue workers might need to launch and land their drones while remaining inside their vehicle and on the move. The challenge asks for the drone to both launch and land from the bed of a Ford F-150 pickup truck, and developers can use Ford’s SYNC AppLink, or the OpenXC platform to let drone and vehicle communicate with each other. Ford says that although this first challenge has a specific objective, the technology used could have drone-to-vehicle applications in farming, forestry, construction, and a host of other outdoor industries.
The competition is open to students and developers from around the world. According to DJI’s press release, the 15 teams who are selected for the second round will be “provided with DJI’s flagship SDK aerial platform, the Matrice 100, as well as a Zenmuse X3 camera to mount on the Matrice. Ten teams will advance into the final round, where they will use their app to perform the mock search-and-rescue mission, taking off and landing on a moving Ford F-150 pickup truck and transmitting the data collected.”
Source: The Verge