A group of students from the faculty of engineering at the Université de Sherbrooke, propelled by a shared passion for aeronautics, launched the project VAMUdeS, acronym of “véhicule aérien miniature de l’Université de Sherbrooke.” Their flight plan? To design electric-powered autonomous planes with a wing span of less than half a metre and equipped with a video camera. This technological challenge would reduce the maintenance costs and risks involved in air missions and at the same time help protect the environment. This year alone, the VAMUdeS team, made up of 17 members with training in several specialized fields (electrical, mechanical and data processing engineering), has already obtained $15,000 from reputable partners such as Pratt & Whitney Canada and Lyrfac AAI. This funding has enabled the team to design, build and, more importantly, excel at various competitions as the prestigious awards received confirm: a first place at the 2006 Québec Engineering Competition (in the Scientific Communication category), a second place at the Canadian chapter of this competition and, more importantly, four first place wins at the international 1st US-European Micro-Aerial Vehicle Technology Demonstration and Assessments competition. With such a talented crew and such innovative ideas, it is not surprising that this project has skyrocketed!
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Yet again this year, Québec had the good fortune of being represented by the Robofoot team at RoboCup, the world cup of robot soccer. An outlandish project? Not really! The extensive technological development behind Robofoot deserves to be acknowledged. The endeavour was carried out by a dozen students at the École Polytechnique de Montréal (ÉPM) who applied their ingenuity to designing autonomous and cooperative multi-robot systems. To achieve such a high degree of mobility and precision, the team developed innovative solutions in various fields, from mechatronic systems for mobile robots to visual perception and cooperation systems. All these technological feats were made possible thanks to donations from a number of partners such as Hydro-Québec, Dassault Systèmes, Canimex, Alubox, as well as ÉPM, contributions that were indispensable in the funding of an annual budget of as much as $100,000. RoboCup, a true forum for the international scientific community, above all enables participants to popularize the latest developments in artificial intelligence and arouse interest in the sciences among youngsters.
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Every year, Groupe Aérospatial de l’Université Laval (GAUL) models and fully builds an advanced high-powered experimental rocket feet long. And by 2010, the group hopes to design and construct a commercially viable final launcher capable of putting small satellites into low orbit. The venture’s success lies in the passion shared by the members of its multidisciplinary team: over 20 students in engineering – electrical, data processing, mechanical and physics – and administration who pool their know-how and overflowing imagination. GAUL also has the support of numerous suppliers and partners such as Pratt & Whitney Canada and Électronique SEM inc., for the assembly of electronic circuits, Canal Geomatics, for its recovery system, as well as DRDC-Valcartier, one of the most important research and development centres in Canada. Thanks to these exceptional resources, the future engineers plan to design an economical full flight simulator, an efficient hybrid engine and even a revolutionary guidance system directly integrated into the satellite. An aerospace breakthrough in Québec!
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