World Robot Summit 2025
Harsh Environment F-REI Challenge
Q & A
Competition Details
Harsh Environment Drone Challenge
(HEDC)
Regarding Application Form Entries
- Q.Is it permitted to change team members after submitting the Entry Form?
- A.You are permitted to change team members after submitting the entry form. It is because during the process of obtaining flight approval from the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB), some adjustments might be needed following the instructions from the bureau. However, please note that after JCAB approval is granted, changes will not be permitted unless there are extraordinary circumstances.
Note: While registering more than 10 for getting flight approval from JCAB is permitted, the number of team members permitted for the competition is limited to 10.
- Q.Is it necessary to register Unmanned Aircraft (UA) with JCAB in advance?
- A.As specified in the application guidelines, it is preferable to register UA with JCAB in advance and obtain an aircraft registration number.
Regarding Communication Channels
- Q.We plan to secure radio wave communication through our own strategy, but intend to install LTE communication equipment onboard as a backup communication method for safety purposes. If we clearly indicate to judges at all times which communication channel is being used, will we avoid penalty?
- A.Clearly indicating the radio wave communication channel can avoid penalty. Just installing LTE equipment will not result in any penalty.
Regarding Competition Evaluation Methodology
- Q.Is there any plan to unveil the detailed evaluation criteria and scoring information?
- A.As stated in the application guidelines, the HEDC Competition Committee emphasizes proposals of new technologies and solutions aimed at achieving mission scenarios; therefore, there are no plans to release detailed evaluation documents.
Note: Specific evaluation criteria and scoring distribution have been predetermined by the Evaluation Committee, and assessments will follow these criteria.
- Q.Is it correct that strategies to complete the missions are up to teams, and evaluations will be based on the strategies and achivement?
- A.Evaluations will comprehensively consider both the strategies and actual performance. Scores will be decided through deliberation among multiple judge committee members.
Note: The HEDC Judge Committee is organized independently from the HEDC steering Committee. On the day of the competition, judge committee members will individually conduct evaluations.
Regarding emergency location reporting system
- Q.Regarding the safety measures confirmation on Sheet 2 of the participation application form, there requires an 'image showing the installation of an emergency location reporting system (e.g., Trackimo, SPOT, etc.)'. Our team is using a Ublox M9N GPS module connected to a Pixhawk flight controller to receive GNSS signals. Does this requirement mean that a standalone GPS module such as Trackimo or SPOT, separate from the aforementioned system, is required?
- A.A standalone reporting system is required.
Regarding Flight Area
- Q.In Mission 3, is it permitted that the main UAV circling in fixed-wing mode above the urban area during the small multicopter (small UAVs) conducting exploration within the urban field?
- A.Unless it does not fly outside the designated flight area, it is permitted.
- Q.With reference to the above question, would the circling flight over the land area between the RTF urban field and the coastline be permitted?
- A.Circling flight would be permitted within the designated flight area. However, around the area above high-voltage power lines, flight is permitted only above the tower, and prohibited above the wires.
- Q.With reference to the earlier question, are there any designated areas for conducting VTOL transition flights (between fixed-wings and multicopter mode)?
- A.There is no restrictions for conducting VTOL transition flights, as long as the flight altitude would be 150 meters or under, which is limited by the flight acts above event sites.
Regarding Parachutes
- Q.What should be done if it is technically impossible to install additional parachutes because of the limitation of payload specification of UAV?
- A.It is recommended to install parachutes for dispersing impact during a fall, however it is not mandatory.
Note: Safety is heavily emphasized. Therefore, teams must take safety measures based on the conditions of aircraft weight and flight speed.
Regarding Scoring
- Q.As to the small multicopter (small UAVs) conducting exploration within the urban field, would it be subject to a point reduction if switching from Namie Runway control to proportional radio control for landing, after completing exploration of the urban field under control from the Namie Runway?
- A.It is desirable that all aircraft return to the Namie Runway. Therefore, if any aircraft does not return to the Namie Runway, there is a possibility of point reduction regardless of whether it is operated via manual control or not. Furthermore, even if the aircraft returns, there is also a possibility of point reduction if there was any manual control intervention during the flight.
Regarding the Automatic inflating buoys (floating system)
- Q.Our UAV is designed with sufficient buoyancy to remain afloat even if it falls onto the water surface. In this case, would it still be necessary to equip additional buoys (floating system)?
- A.If the UAV can float on the water by itself, you do not need to equip with additional floats.
Note: If it can remain afloat on the warter, any mechanism can be acceptable. Please write down the mechanism in the proposal form.
- Q.What should be done if it is technically impossible to install floating system because of the limitation of payload specification of UAV?
- A.The requirement to install floating system applies specifically to aircraft that clearly risk submersion. Aircraft that already incorporate inherent submersion countermeasures are exempt from this requirement.
Regarding the method of data submission
- Q.I have a question regarding the submission of aerial photography data for Mission 1.
Is there a designated data submission medium?
We are currently assuming microSD. - A.We are planning to prepare a cloud storage service, and have you to upload the data there. Further details will be provided later.
- Q.Do you have any specifications for the data submission format of the aerial photography for Mission 1?
- A.We are planning to have you to compile all of your data, including on-site photographs and a digital map with the route, into a single file, and upload to the above-mentioned storage.
Regarding the time limit
- Q.In the Pre-Challenge held in 2024, the time limit was set to two hours. Will it be reduced to one hour for this Competition in 2025?
- A.The time limit will be set to one hour.
Note: This is to enable larger number of teams to participate in this Competition.