FIGHTER UAV

COMPETITION
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATIONS

2024 1
Content
1 Objective .............................................................................................................. 5
2 Conditions and Details of Participation in the Competition ................................... 5
3 Competition Categories........................................................................................ 6
4 Details of the Competition Area and Working Areas of the Teams ...................... 7
5 UAV Technical Specifications and Restrictions .................................................... 7
5.1 Physical Limitations of UAVs ......................................................................... 7
5.2 UAV Battery Limitations................................................................................. 7
6 Competition Details .............................................................................................. 8
6.1 Fighter UAV Mission ...................................................................................... 8
6.1.1 Hit Detection ........................................................................................... 9
6.1.2 Communication ..................................................................................... 12
6.1.3 Competition Server ............................................................................... 13
6.1.4 Telemetry Information ........................................................................... 13
6.1.5 Lock Information ................................................................................... 13
6.1.6 Competition Process ............................................................................. 13
6.1.7 Manual Mode Switching ........................................................................ 14
6.2 Kamikaze UAV Mission ............................................................................... 15
6.3 Air Defence System and Signal Jamming Zone .......................................... 16
6.4 Special Rules............................................................................................... 18
6.4.1 UAV Registration .................................................................................. 18
6.4.2 Technical Control .................................................................................. 18
6.4.3 Referee Briefing .................................................................................... 18
6.4.4 Fraud Prevention Team and Rules ....................................................... 18
6.4.5 Objections ............................................................................................. 18
7 Competition Calendar, Scoring and Evaluation .................................................. 19
7.1 Competition Calendar .................................................................................. 19
7.1.1 Technical Qualification Form................................................................. 19
7.1.2 Critical Design Report ........................................................................... 20
7.1.3 Flight and Pilot Evidence Video ............................................................ 20
7.1.4 System Identification Video ................................................................... 21
7.2 Scoring of the Competition .......................................................................... 22
7.2.1 Report and Video Scoring (30%) .......................................................... 22
7.2.2 Task Scoring (70%) .............................................................................. 22
7.2.3 Total Points ........................................................................................... 24

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 7.3 Autonomy and Lockdown Assessment Method ........................................... 24
8 Awards ............................................................................................................... 25
8.1 Minimum Success Criteria for Award Ranking ............................................ 26
8.2 Mansion Mention Awards ............................................................................ 26
9 Security Needs ................................................................................................... 26

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 List of Figures
Figure 1: Tasks to be Completed for the Grand Prize .................................................8
Figure 2: Sample Stroke Area .....................................................................................9
Figure 3: Kamikaze Mission Visualisation.................................................................. 15
Figure 4: Sample No Fly Zones Visualisation ............................................................ 17
Figure 5: Autonomous Scoring Flowchart .................................................................. 23

List of Tables
Table 1: Versions .........................................................................................................4
Table 2: Competition Calendar .............................. Hata! Yer işareti tanımlanmamış.
Table 3: Report and Video Score Distributions ...... Hata! Yer işareti tanımlanmamış.
Table 4: Task Point Types and Amounts ............... Hata! Yer işareti tanımlanmamış.
Table 5: Award Amounts ....................................... Hata! Yer işareti tanımlanmamış.

VERSIONS

VERSION DATE Explanation

V1.1 16.12.2023 TEKNOFEST 2024 First Version

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1 Objective

In parallel with the developments in technology, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)

are developing their fields of activity and gaining more autonomy day by day. Another
application area that requires high autonomy and is one of the hot research areas
worldwide is to provide UAVs with the capability to perform specialised strategic
missions performed by fighter jets. Since UAVs, which have already largely taken
over the observation activities worldwide from manned platforms, cannot approach
the level of human intelligence in terms of high environmental awareness, decision-
making ability and planning ability in dynamic environments, air-to-air combat
maneuvers between fighter jets can only be performed by manned aircraft. The main
purpose of the Fighter Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) competition is to create such
air-air and air-land fighter scenarios between UAVs in a controlled environment, and
to direct young people who can achieve success in this field in the future to related
fields, to gain experience and improve their skills.

2 Conditions and Details of Participation in the Competition

● All high school (including Distance Education) and university students (including
Bachelor's, Associate's, Master's, Doctorate and Distance Education) and graduates
studying in Türkiye and abroad can participate in the competition.
● The competition consists of one category.
● Teams must consist of at least 3 and at most 15 people. Apart from this, teams can
only take 1 person as a counsellor.
● Teams can participate in the final stage of the competition with a maximum of 10
people.
● A member of one team cannot be a member of another team.
● The safety pilot and the Ground Control Station (GCS) operator cannot be the same
person. The safety pilot must follow the aircraft throughout the flight and be ready for
a possible emergency situation.
● High school graduates are required to pass a maximum of 3 (three) years from the
date of graduation.
● Teams can be formed from a single school or as a mixed team by bringing together
more than one secondary/higher education student.
● The finalist teams are required to upload their approved student documents, and for
the counsellors, they are required to upload the approved document showing that
they are lecturer/assistant, research assistant or teacher to the area to be opened on
the CMS platform.
● For the counsellors, a certified document showing that they are faculty
members/assistants, research assistants or teachers must be submitted.
● A counsellor can only advise one team.
● It is obligatory for the counsellor to forward the assignment letter to be received from
the relevant education/training institutions to the TEKNOFEST Committee.
● In case of a change of advisor, it must be submitted in writing to the relevant

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 TEKNOFEST Committee. (It is mandatory to submit this document to change the
counsellor).
● The transport and accommodation support to be provided to the finalist teams is
limited. The number of people to be supported will be notified to the teams later by
the TEKNOFEST Competitions Committee.
● Applications are made online via the application system www.t3kys.com until 20
February 2024.
● Between the application dates, the team captain/advisor registers through the
system, makes the registration of the advisor and/or team captain/team members, if
any, in the system correctly and completely, and sends an invitation to the e-mails of
the advisor and members, if any. The member to whom the invitation is sent logs into
the application system and accepts the invitation from the "My Team Information"
section and the registration is completed. Otherwise, the registration is not completed.
● All necessary processes within the scope of the competition (Application, Report
Receipt, Report Results, Financial Support Application, Appeal Processes, Member
addition / removal processes, etc.) are carried out through the CMS system. Teams
are required to follow their processes through the CMS system.
● Member additions/removals are made until the Critical Design Report Delivery date.
● Throughout the competition process, making applications, uploading reports and
filling out forms via CMS are within the authority of the team captain and/or advisor
and the competition processes are managed through these persons.
● TEKNOFEST Competitions Committee has the authority to limit the number of
members in the festival area. In case of limitation, the committee will be informed by
the committee.
● The competitor will be able to participate in the competition by reading and approving
all explanations about the competition and the conditions of participation before
applying.

Those who apply to the competition are deemed to have accepted all of the above
conditions. Applications will be received via TEKNOFEST Aviation, Space and
Technology Festival, Technology Competitions official website (www.teknofest.org).

3 Competition Categories

The competition consists only of the Fixed Wing category.

If the UAV provides the lift/carrying force required for its flight with wings, this vehicle
is classified as a fixed-wing UAV, and if the lift/carrying force required for its flight is
provided by rotating propellers, this vehicle is classified as a rotary-wing UAV.
UAVs that take off and land vertically and carry out the necessary transport for flight
by means of wings are also considered as fixed-wing UAVs.

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4 Details of the Competition Area and Working Areas of the
Teams

The flight area will be announced before the competition. Electricity access will be
provided within the race area. Apart from this, each team will be allocated their own
tent area to prepare for the competition and to display their vehicles.

5 UAV Technical Specifications and Restrictions

In general, UAVs will be subjected to technical examination by the competition

committee in terms of safety before the competition. According to the result of the
examination, the team's participation in the competition will be approved. Teams that
fail the technical inspection cannot participate in the flight. The technical inspection
area will remain open throughout the competition. Teams that have a breakdown or
fail to pass the technical inspection can enter the technical inspection at any time
during the competition period with the approval of the referee. Teams whose technical
inspection is not completed until the start of the competition cannot participate in the
competition.

UAVs must have safety systems (failsafe mode) in case of communication

interruptions (see Safety Requirements for details). UAVs can be autonomous or
controlled (manually) by remote control. In the design and production of UAVs, teams
can use off-the-shelf products, including the platform (fuselage, wing, engine, etc.)
and subsystems.

The propulsion systems of UAVs should consist of battery-powered electric motors.

There should be a fuse on the UAVs that switches the motor power line. This fuse
can be blade type or button type. Fuses made using a 'jumper' cable connector on
the motor power line will not be accepted.

5.1 Physical Limitations of UAVs

Air vehicles that will participate in the competition must not weigh more than 10kg.
UAVs will be weighed together with the maximum take-off weight during the technical
control, UAVs above the limit will not be able to pass the technical control. There is
no limitation in terms of size and number of engines.

5.2 UAV Battery Limitations

The vehicles that will participate in the UAV competition must use well-known and
proven battery technologies as the main power source. In addition, the batteries used
must be safely positioned inside the vehicle. Batteries must be brightly colored to
make them easy to spot in case of an accident. Vehicles whose energy source is
deemed dangerous by the jury will definitely not be allowed to fly. In case of any
accident, the competitors are obliged to safely remove their batteries from the
competition area and not leave them in the competition or TEKNOFEST area.

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6 Competition Details

Each UAV participating in the competition will be in the air at the same time during
the competition and will compete against each other. The competition committee
reserves the right to limit the number of UAVs in the air at the same time.

The competition consists of two different missions, "Fighting UAV" and "Kamikaze
UAV" missions. Competitor teams who want to receive the grand prize must fulfil both
of these tasks.

Figure 1: Tasks to be Completed for the Grand Prize

6.1 Fighter UAV Mission

In the competition, UAVs will target each other and try to lock visually. The camera to
be used while trying to lock through the image must be positioned in the nose of the
aircraft, parallel to the horizontal axis of the aircraft and fixed. At the same time, the
use of stereo, 360°, etc. cameras will not be allowed. No additional sensors should
be used for lock-on (e.g. Lidar, Radar). The shooting will take place virtually, not
physically; therefore, there is no physical damage to the shot down UAVs.
The aim of the competition is to successfully lock on to rival UAVs and/or markings in
the area as many times as possible and to avoid being locked on by other UAVs
through aggressive manoeuvres.

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6.1.1 Hit Detection
The shot is achieved by the UAV performing the lock-on by taking the image of the
opponent UAV into its own camera image. In order for the interlock to occur, the
moving rival UAV must be kept within a square region in the center of the camera
image for at least 4 seconds. Interlocks that are determined by the arbiter commission
to have been made in agreement will not be evaluated and the teams in question will
be disqualified from the competition.
The size of this square area is as shown in Figure 2. At the same time, the image of
the opponent UAV must cover at least 5% of the screen image on at least one of the
horizontal and vertical axes (see Figure 2).
When teams develop image processing algorithms, it is not recommended that the
limit they accept for sending packets is exactly 5%. Algorithms work within a certain
tolerance, for example, an object that actually occupies 4.5% of the video image may
be treated as a deadlock by the algorithm and send a packet to the server. This will
be considered as a false deadlock packet in the subsequent peer review. It is
recommended that a more tolerant algorithm be developed, with a packet sending
limit of 6% or more.
The packet sent to the server must meet the locking condition of 5% for the entire
specified time. Frame losses may occur due to hardware or communication. There is
a 5% 'missing or incorrect frame tolerance' for frame losses or incorrectly drawn
deadlock quadrilaterals. For a 4-second video, there is a tolerance of 5%, i.e. up to
200 ms. The 'missing or incorrect frame tolerance' does not apply at the start or end
of the video.
The definition and rules of the parameters specified in Figure 2 are given below.

Figure 2: Sample Hit Area

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 AK Camera Field of View

AV: Target Hit Area (the area within which the opponent UAV must be kept)

AH Lockdown Quadrilateral

HH Target Aircraft

The UAV must be flying in autonomous mode during autonomous lock-on. Lock-on
detection should be done automatically by the system without any user intervention.
During manual lock-on, the user can move the UAV manually. If the hit detection of
the UAV entering the Target Strike Area with the manually controlled UAV is
performed automatically, this is considered as a manual hit. For a manual strike, the
user can also manually determine the hit detection and the target UAV Area.

During autonomous lock-on, selecting from several alternative targets automatically

identified on the image does not impair the UAV's ability to autonomously track a
specific target. However, manually marking and tracking a region in the image will not
be counted as autonomous locking. Competitors are obliged to inform the referee
board of the methods they will use for locking before the competition. The referee
committee reserves the right to decide whether the methods used are valid or not. By
participating in this competition, competitors are deemed to have undertaken to
accept the decisions of the referee board. Each UAV is obliged to document the video
recording of the lockout by presenting it to the referee panel after the competition.
The referee panel will verify the hits after each competition by analysing the videos
and the lock data sent to the server. Teams that do not submit the relevant videos to
the referees in charge cannot leave the competition area, and if they leave without
submitting the video for any reason, the field occupation penalty point will be applied.
Video delivery must be provided within the 10 minutes given to vacate the competition
area. In case of exceeding this period, field occupation penalty points will be applied.
The competition recording video must be uploaded in one piece to the FTP server by
logging in with the team username and password. The uploaded video must be able
to be opened and played flawlessly with OpenCV 4.5 version and FFPLAY
application. Each team is recommended to transmit the images of the camera they
use for the lockdown to their ground stations in real time with a minimum resolution
of 640x480.
Competitors may use more than one camera (provided that they are positioned
outside the nose of the aircraft) for the purpose of avoiding competitors or for non-
lockout use. The footage of each camera used must be recorded in raw form. The
judging panel has the right to request these video recordings from the competitors at
any time.
Although live video transmission to the competition host during the competition is not
mandatory, teams that transmit live video to the competition host will earn real-time
video transmission points.

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 Video to be transmitted live:
● It must have a constant frame rate.
● Frame rate should be minimum 15 and frames that cannot be obtained due to loss of
communication etc. should not affect the FPS value of live broadcast transmission.
● The camera image must be transferred. Screen recording transfer is not accepted.
● The image must have a minimum resolution of 640x480.
● The video format must comply with the standard mentioned in a document to be
shared later.

Evaluation video to be uploaded to the FTP server after the competition:

● It must have a constant frame rate.
● Frame rate should be minimum 15 and frames that cannot be obtained due to
communication loss etc. should not affect the FPS value.
● Images other than the original video such as ground control computer screen
recording, desktop recording, cropped desktop recording should not be shared as
evaluation videos.
● The image must have a minimum resolution of NTSC (640x480).
● The image must have one of the aspect ratios 4:3, 5:4, 16:9.
● There should be no blackness, gaps, etc. on the edges of the image.
● The video should not be subjected to any postprocessing, zooming, drawing, etc.
● The server time must be written on the upper right side of the image with millisecond
precision. Images without server time or with a different time will not be evaluated.
● During the lockout, the lockout quadrilateral must be drawn in red (#FF0000) on
each frame.
● In the evaluation phase, the time and size limits will be determined by the analysis
of the submitted image by the referees, not by the declaration of the teams.
● Video nomenclature should not contain special characters ([*], [,], [!], [:], etc.) or
Turkish characters.
● Video nomenclature should be in the form of "[Competition No] [Team Name] [Date
(dd/mm/yyyy)]". Example; “2_Anadolu_IHA_Takimi_12_07_2022.mp4”.

● The video must be able to be opened and played without errors with OpenCV 4.5
version and FFPLAY application.
● Videos must be saved in specific formats with specific compression algorithms (H264
MP4-MPG etc.)

A rectangular area encompassing the target aircraft must be identified during the lock-
on. This area must be marked with a red rectangle on the video at the time of the
lock-up and the location information about this area must be reported to the
competition presenter according to the format specified in the communication field.
The video to be evaluated must comply with the conditions given above. Otherwise,
it will not be evaluated.

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 The whole of the interlock quadrilateral and the target UAV (HH) must be within the
target strike area specified above. The center of the target UAV must be located
within the interlock quadrilateral and the target interlock quadrilateral must contain at
least 90% of the target. The thickness of the lines of the interlock quadrilateral and
the target strike area quadrilateral should be at most 3 pixels.
The distance between the center of the locking quadrilateral and the center of the
target UAV cannot be more than half the width of the target UAV horizontally and half
the height of the target UAV vertically.
In order for the teams to receive points in case of a deadlock, the competition server
must be notified of the deadlock according to the format specified in the
communication section and the necessary data must be shared with the server
correctly.

Sending lockdown information in the absence of a lockdown, sending or marking area

information containing incorrect targets will result in teams receiving minus points. In
cases where the interlock quadrilateral covers a certain area of the UAV but does not
fit perfectly, the evaluation will be made by the referee committee.

In order for an autonomous lock-on to occur, the aircraft must be in autonomous mode
before the lock-on period starts and before the target UAV enters the target strike
area, and must remain in autonomous flight mode during the lock-on period. If the
target UAV(HH) is inside the target strike area but its size is less than 5%, the target
UAV(HH) is considered not to have entered the target strike area. Switching to
autonomous mode after the target UAV (HH) is in the target strike area is not
considered as autonomous lock-on. However, switching to autonomous mode after
the target UAV (HH) appears in the image in such a way that it is not in the strike area
before switching to autonomous mode does not constitute an obstacle for
autonomous lockout.
Teams cannot lock onto the same UAV successively. After locking on to a UAV, it is
necessary to lock on to at least one different UAV in order to lock on to the same
UAV. Teams cannot lock onto a UAV on the ground. In order for the lockouts to be
considered successful, the lockout packet must be sent to the competition server no
later than 2 seconds after the end of the lockout.

6.1.2 Communication
Each UAV should provide point-to-point communication with its own ground station.
Encrypted communication protocols such as Wi-Fi, cellular communication, spread
spectrum are recommended. Before the competition, signal control will be carried out
and the teams whose signals interfere with each other will be identified and it will be
ensured that they take the necessary measures under the supervision of the referees.
In addition, the vehicles that will participate in the competition will be checked by the
competition referee committee in the control area established in the competition area
1 (One) day before the competition date. Teams that fail to pass the control can
correct their problems during the competition and request to be examined. Teams
that do not correct the communication situation will not be included in the competition.

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 The communication frequency and telemetry ID determined for each team before the
flight must not be changed until the end of the competition. In addition, it is forbidden
to switch on the video transceiver electronics of the teams in the tent during the
competition.

6.1.3 Competition Server

Each ground station must be in communication with the competition server. This
communication will be wired using an ethernet network switch.

A communication document will be published later to enable mutual data transfer

between the competitor ground stations and the referee server.
Competitors must transmit data such as the GPS coordinates of the aircraft, altitude
information, lockout status and the location of the lockout area to the referee server
via this system with a minimum of 1Hz (one data per second) and a maximum of 5Hz
(5 data per second).
In addition, the system server will provide telemetry information from each team to all
teams in real time at 1Hz (one data per second).
The system time will be shared with the teams via the referee system. Competitors
must include this system time in every data they send to the server. With this
feedback, the delay between the competitor systems and the competition server will
be calculated.
All data sent by the competitors through this system are recorded and the competitors
undertake the accuracy of all data sent through this system. Teams that send
incorrect telemetry data during the competition will be penalised.

6.1.4 Telemetry Information

The telemetry data transmitted to the server must have been generated directly by
the autopilot computer in the aircraft and must not have undergone any interpolation,
extrapolation or copying process. Otherwise, the teams will be deemed not to have
transmitted data to the ground station. Detailed information about telemetry
information is available in the 2024 TEKNOFEST Fighter UAV Competition
Communication Document.

6.1.5 Lock Information

In case of a deadlock, information about the deadlock must be reported to the server
with the deadlock packet. Detailed information about the crash data is available in the
2024 TEKNOFEST Fighter UAV Competition Communication Document.

6.1.6 Competition Process

The competition will be seven days in total, two days for technical inspection and test
flights and five days for flights. The competitions may be organised as one flight
before noon and one flight in the afternoon, taking into account the weather conditions
and the availability of the flight area. The number of competitions may be increased
in the last two days of the competition. The exact dates and times of the flights will be

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 determined according to the availability of conditions at the time of the competition
and competitors are expected to be ready to fly when requested.
Teams that pass the technical controls can make test flights during lunch break,
competition breaks and technical controls. They are required to coordinate their test
flight requests with the relevant area referee. Since the airspace in the competition
area will be authorised during certain hours, it is forbidden to attempt a test flight
without consulting the referee.
Competitions will be held for 15 minutes each to be evaluated separately throughout
the competition. The total number of competitions may change due to unavailability
of airspace or unforeseen reasons. Teams take off in order and land in the same
order as they took off after 15 minutes of flight time. The 15-minute flight time starts
with the instruction from the referees after the last team takes off and reaches the
maximum altitude.
In order for competitors to receive points from a competition, they must complete the
relevant competition period in the air. The points earned by the competitors who land
before the end of the time are invalidated. In case of collisions and accidents in the
air, the points earned by the competitor will not lose their validity. In case of an
emergency situation requiring landing, the decision is made by the referee board and
the referee board will make the final decision on the validity of the points.
Competitors are forbidden to take off and land during the competition. Competitors
participating in the competition are responsible for designing their aircraft in such a
way that they can operate during the duration of the competition and take-off and
landing.
Teams are free to participate in all or any of the total competitions. The competition
score is the sum of the points collected by the teams in the competitions they
participate in.

Teams will be given 30 minutes to set up their systems and make their aircraft ready
for flight before each competition. Teams that cannot be ready for flight within this
period cannot participate in the relevant competition. In this case, field occupation
penalty is applied.

At the end of the flight time, teams will be given 10 minutes to vacate the flight area
and collect their systems, and teams that do not vacate the flight area in this time will
be penalised with space occupation penalty points.

6.1.7 Manual Mode Switching

The limit for a team to switch to manual mode within a competition round is 3. Teams
exceeding this limit will be penalised with penalty points per transition.
When the team pilot steers the aircraft with the help of the controller, it is considered
as manual mode. Flight in semi-auto mode is also considered as manual.
Sending commands to the vehicle via the Ground Control Computer (defining
destination, changing altitude, changing cruise speed, giving landing command) does
not disrupt autonomy and is not considered as a transition to manual mode. When
the same commands are given with the controller, autonomy is not impaired.

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 The team pilot must notify the pilot referee responsible for him/her when he/she
intends to intervene in manual mode. If he fails to do so, the pilot referee may treat
this as a switch to manual mode.

The number of switches to manual mode will be counted by the competition server
and exceeding the limit will be automatically added to the penalty points. Therefore,
the accuracy of the flight mode information sent by the teams to the server is the
responsibility of the teams.

6.2 Kamikaze UAV Mission

In the Fighter UAV Competition, there will be a "Kamikaze UAV" mission in addition
to the Fighter UAV mission. Competitor teams who want to receive the grand prize
must complete the Kamikaze mission in at least one competition round along with the
Fighter UAV mission (autonomous lock-on mission to any aircraft in the air). The
Kamikaze UAV mission can be performed in the same competition round as the
Fighter UAV mission, or it can be performed in different rounds.
Vehicles that take to the air for a round of competition can both lock with each other
and perform kamikaze missions during the round. These two tasks are not separate
competition categories. During the competition round, teams may attempt to lock on
to ground targets or air targets, i.e. other aircraft.
There will be 1 ground target in the competition area and the location of this target
will be sent to all competitors via the server. There will be a QR code on the ground
plane at the target location. This code will be read during the kamikaze mission.
The teams aiming to perform the kamikaze UAV mission will be expected to
autonomously lock on the fixed target on the ground with the autonomous take-off,
autonomous flight, autonomous landing tasks of the aircraft in the same round. No
physical impact is expected from the competing teams.
Hit detection is achieved by reading the QR code and sending the password to the
server. This password is renewed in each competition round. The location of the
target is always fixed. Teams can score only 1 point from the kamikaze mission in a
round. The camera used for the lock on the aircraft and the camera used for the
kamikaze mission must be the same. Incorrect hit detection is also valid here.
The dimensions of the QR code will be 2.5m x 2.5m. In order to prevent the code
from being read during level flight, it will be covered with 45 degree angle plates on
our sides. The height of the plates will be 2.5m. In case of descending below the flight
altitude limit during a kamikaze mission, it will be considered as going out of the area.
Situations related to going out of the area are explained under the heading "Safety
Needs".

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 Figure 2 : Kamikaze Mission

The message contained in the QR code must be sent no later than 2 seconds after
the end of the dive. The QR message will be checked on the video submitted at the
end of the competition.

Teams that experience a crash during the kamikaze will receive autonomous locking
points even if they succeed in the autonomous kamikaze locking task before the
crash, but they will not be considered to have completed the kamikaze task because
they cannot land autonomously.

6.3 Air Defence System and Signal Jamming Zone

In addition to missions, the Fighter UAV Competition will also include air defence
systems and jamming zones that competitors must avoid. These zones will be
activated by the competition referees at any time during the competition and will be
declared as no-fly zones. These no-fly zones are virtual circles. Virtual circles have
infinite height on the vertical axis. There is no physical interference with the aircraft.

Teams are expected not to fly in the relevant areas when air defence systems and
jamming zones are active and to develop various avoidance algorithms to prevent
their vehicles from entering the restricted areas. At the same time, teams are
expected to lock on to the opposing teams in the air corridors formed by the no-fly
zones.
An announcement will be made to the competitors 1 minute before the air defence
systems are opened. After the relevant announcement is made, competitors will be
able to access the coordinates and zone diameters of the zones with air defence
system or signal jamming from the competition server. Detailed information on Air
Defence System and Signal Jamming Zone data is available in the 2024
TEKNOFEST Fighting UAV Competition Communication Document.

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The number of no-fly zones in the competition, the location of the zones, the
diameters of the no-fly zones and the active periods of these zones will be under the
control of the competition referees. Air defence systems may be switched on or off
and the time interval during which they remain active is at the discretion of the
competition referees. When the air defence systems are active, teams are free to
perform Fighter UAV and Kamikaze UAV missions. An announcement will be made
to the competitors when the air defence systems and signal jamming are switched
off. After the relevant announcement, competitors will be able to continue flying in the
entire competition area.

Teams will receive -10 penalty points for every full second flown in areas where air
defences are open (red zones). Teams will be asked to land their aircraft when the
total time flown in red zones exceeds 20 seconds. Flight control within the red zones
will be provided by counters kept separately for each team on the main server. The
referees are not responsible for sharing the total time spent in the red areas with the
competitors.

Figure 4: Sample No Fly Zones Image

The image is representative. The flight area will be announced before the competition.

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6.4 Special Rules

6.4.1 UAV Registration

The pilots of the teams participating in the competition must have made a "UAV Pilot
Registration Application" at https://iha.shgm.gov.tr/ and their applications must be
approved. Teams that do not have pilot authorisation in this system will not be allowed
to fly.

Members who are authorised as pilots are required to register their UAVs from the
"UAV Production - Import Registration" section at https://iha.shgm.gov.tr/. UAVs
without an approved registration will not be allowed to fly.
Delays due to the approval period will not be taken into account.
Teams are required to have the documents showing that they have registered their
pilots and UAVs with them on the day of the competition.

6.4.2 Technical Control

The UAV must remain the same as described and described in the final design report.
After the submission of the reports, minor corrections to improve the flight
performance and safety of the vehicle will be evaluated by the judges. During the
technical control, the conformity with the UAV design given in the report will be
analysed. Objections made directly to the Technical Control Referee during the
Technical Control phase will not be considered.

6.4.3 Referee Briefing

Each referee is informed about the rules in advance. Before the competition, the
referees will inform about the rules of the competition in a meeting to be attended by
at least one person from each team.
6.4.4 Fraud Prevention Team and Rules
Teams found to be jamming will be disqualified from the competition. Apart from the
jury and referees, there may be secret juries and secret referees disguised as
spectators. Teams found cheating will be reprimanded and banned from the
competition indefinitely.

6.4.5 Objections
Each team has the right of written appeal. Appeal forms will be given to each team
before the competition for the number of competitions they will participate in. The
objections will be evaluated by the advisory board. Verbal objections will not be taken
into consideration. The objections will be forwarded to the relevant referee in the
competition area.

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7 Competition Calendar, Scoring and Evaluation

7.1 Competition Calendar

History Description

20.02.2024 Competition Application Deadline

18.03.2024 Technical Qualification Form Deadline

27.03.2024 Announcement of Technical Qualification Form Results

22.04.2024 Critical Design Report Deadline

23.05.2024 Announcement of Critical Design Report Results

System Identification and Flight Evidence Videos

02.07.2024
Deadline for Submission

17.07.2024 Announcement of Finalist Teams

AUGUST 2024 Final

Table 1: Competition Calendar

The evaluation will be made in three different stages; Critical Design Report, System
Description Video and competition scoring. Teams that do not submit the Technical
Qualification Form, Critical Design Report, Flight Evidence and System Description
Video files will not be eligible to participate in the competition.

Report submission must be uploaded via the CMS system until 17:00 on the day
specified in the calendar: 17:00 must be uploaded via the CMS system. The
TEKNOFEST Competitions Committee has the right to make changes in the calendar
and times. Dates will be announced in the next versions of the specification.

7.1.1 Technical Qualification Form

Teams are obliged to fill in their Technical Qualification Forms on the date specified
in the calendar. In the Technical Qualification Form; mechanical design, hardware
and software design of UAVs should be specified. In order to request support within
the scope of this competition, the Technical Qualification Form (TIF) must be
completed. As a result of the TIF evaluation, applications that do not comply with the
competition specifications will be eliminated. It is filled in in order for the teams to
provide preliminary information about the aircraft they design/will design. TYF
template and its content will be shared with the teams after the end of the application
period.
The Technical Qualification Form template will be shared later on the competition page on
www.teknofest.org.

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7.1.2 Critical Design Report
Teams that have passed to the Critical Design Report (CDR) stage are obliged to
submit their Critical Design Reports on the date specified in the calendar. The Critical
Design Report is intended to ensure that the documentation of the work is carried out
regularly. The hardware, software and mechanical design principles of the UAVs must
be specified in the CDR. The Critical Design Report should include the quantities and
qualities of the software and hardware devices used in the vehicles. The templates of
the Critical Design Report will be announced on the TEKNOFEST website after the
application deadline. According to the KTR results, the teams that are eligible to
participate in the final will be announced on the date in the calendar.

Teams above the barrage score to be determined according to the results of the Critical
Design Report will continue the competition and financial support will be given to the
number of teams determined by the Competition Advisory Board and the Referee
Committee. Other teams above the barrage score will continue the process without
financial support.
The Critical Design Report template will be shared later on the competition page on
www.teknofest.org

7.1.3 Flight and Pilot Evidence Video

The flight proof video is a maximum 5-minute video showing that the UAV is ready to
participate the competition. The video should demonstrate the UAV performing
landing, take-off and flight tasks safely and that the safety pilot has mastered the flight
of the aircraft. In the video the take-off, flight and landing of the aircraft must be
uninterrupted. At least 3 minutes of the flight must be autonomous. There should be
a HUD image on a designated part of the screen, in such a way that the mode change
can be seen. Take-off, landing and cruising must be clearly visible in the video. The
UAV shown in the proof-of-flight video and the vehicle brought to the competition area
must be identical, except for the previously mentioned changes.
In addition to the autonomous flight proof video, teams are required to submit a pilot
proof video of their aircraft taking off and landing at least once under pilot control. The
pilot proof video is a maximum 5 minutes video showing that the teams' aircraft
performed safe take-off, landing and flight tasks under the control of a safety pilot and
that the safety pilot was in control of the aircraft's flight. The take-off and landing of
the flight must be under pilot control. The flight can be autonomous except take-off
and landing, but the take-off and landing stages must be completely under pilot
control. There should be a HUD image on a designated part of the screen, where the
mode change can be seen, and a pilot image on a different part of the screen. All
components shown in the video must be synchronised. Pilots are free to use semi-
autonomous flight modes (FBWA, FBWB etc.). Take-off, landing and flight must be
clearly visible in the video.
At the beginning of the pilot proof video, the safety pilot is expected to introduce
himself/herself. Teams with more than one safety pilot must shoot a separate pilot
proof video for each safety pilot. The pilot proof video should be maximum 5 minutes
per pilot in the team. The total length of the two videos should not be longer than 10

20
 minutes and should be uploaded as a single video under the title Flight Proof Video.
Teams are free to perform the requirements in two videos (Flight Evidence Video,
Pilot Evidence Video) in a single flight. The safety pilot can take off the aircraft under
remote control and land it under remote control again after 3 minutes of
autonomous flight or in addition to the video containing fully autonomous take-off,
flight and landing, a second flight containing a pilot-controlled non-autonomous take-
off and landing can be combined in a single video.
Teams that send the images taken from the camera on the UAV as a flight proof video
must also show the vehicle in the video.

Flight and Pilot Evidence Video must be submitted in order to participate in the
competition. Teams whose Pilot Proof Video including pilot control will be deemed
insufficient will not be able to participate in the competition. The deadline for
submitting the Flight and Pilot Proof Videos is specified in the calendar.

Teams must upload the Flight Evidence Video to the team's own Youtube channel
and send the link to the arbitration committee via the communication channel to be
specified later. It is not mandatory for the video to be publicly available on Youtube.
However, videos that cannot be accessed via the link will not be evaluated. The video
must be at least 720p quality.

7.1.4 System Identification Video

In this video, the prepared vehicle should be introduced under the main headings of
mechanics, electronics and software and should show that they are ready to compete
with engineering calculations. The prepared video should not exceed 10 minutes.
System Summary: In this section, the general characteristics of the vehicle (e.g.
flight time, weight, etc.) should be mentioned and detailed descriptions should be
avoided.
Development Tests: In this section, separate tests of the mechanical, electronic and
software sub-parts developed for the flight of the prepared vehicle should be shown
(e.g: wing loading test, flight time thrust calculation, communication distance test,
simulation test etc.). Each test should be supported with data and graphics.

All Mission Test: In this section, the tests of autonomous flight and lock-on missions
on the vehicle should be shown. It should be shown how the information coming from
the server is evaluated and how the autonomous crash software works. In this test,
the readiness of the vehicles for the competition should be evaluated by supporting
with data.

Teams must upload the System Identification Video to the team's own Youtube
channel and then send the link to the referee committee via the CMS system. It is not
mandatory for the relevant video to be publicly available on Youtube. However, videos
that cannot be accessed via the link will not be evaluated. The video must be at least
720p quality.

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7.2 Scoring of the Competition
The scoring of the competition consists of two parts. The first part consists of report
scoring and the second part consists of task scoring.

7.2.1 Report and Video Scoring (30%)

The table below shows the report and video scoring types and percentages.

Scoring Type Scoring Percentage

Critical Design Report %15

System Identification Video %15

Table 2: Report and Video Score Distributions

7.2.2 Task Scoring (70%)

The table below shows the types and amounts of scoring. In the total of all competition
scoring, competitors' points will be limited to -400 if their penalty points exceed -400,
and competitors' points will be limited to -300 if their penalty points in a competition
exceed -300.

At the end of the competition, the score of the team with the maximum total task score
will be scaled as 100 points and the total task score of the other teams will be scaled
using the same scaling ratio.

Scoring type Score Type of penalty Score

Autonomous successful 600 Untransmitted/erroneous telemetry -0.2

locking packet (per second)

Manual successful 200 False hit detection -30

lockout

Kamikaze Mission Score 500 Manual Mode Limit Exceeding (For -10
each exceeding change)

Autonomous landing 100 Air Defence System Violation (per -10

second)

Autonomous take-off 50 Area Penalty -150

Real Time Image 50 Penalty for going outside the borders -200
Transfer

Table 3: Mission Point Types and Amounts

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Scoring will be based on the number of locks, not seconds. Vehicles must follow the
other vehicle for at least 4 seconds in order to perform a lock. In order for a vehicle
to be locked to the same vehicle again, it must be locked to a different vehicle.
In order for a lock-on to be considered an autonomous lock-on, the target UAV must
be taken into the lock-on quadrant in autonomous mode and remain in autonomous
mode during the tracking period. Switching to autonomous mode after the target UAV
is manually taken into the lock-on quadrilateral does not count as an autonomous
lock-on.
During autonomous lock-on, selecting the UAV to follow a specific target among
several alternative targets that are automatically determined on the image does not
disrupt autonomy. However, manually marking and following a region on the image
will not be considered autonomous lock-on. Competitors are responsible for informing
the referee board of the methods they will use for lock-on before the competition. The
referee committee reserves the right to make the final decision on whether the
methods used are valid or not. By participating in this competition, competitors are
deemed to have undertaken to accept the decisions of the referee board.
Competitors must fly autonomously for at least 75% of the duration of the relevant
competition in order to receive points. During the competition, it is possible to switch
to manual mode and back to autonomous mode with a total autonomous flight time
of 75%. Field occupation penalty will be applied to teams that do not fulfil this
condition.
Competitors are responsible for informing the referee board about the commands,
transition strategies between modes and methods (via the controller, via the ACI, etc.)
they will use throughout the flight plan. The decision as to whether such use violates
autonomy or not will be made by the referee board. The referee board has the right
to cancel any points scored in the event that a form of control not previously approved
by the referee board is detected.
The out of bounds penalty is levied for being out of bounds for more than 10 seconds
for 1 time or for being out of bounds for less than 10 seconds for the 4th time. The
minimum flight altitude will be notified to the competitors by the advisory board /
referees after the flight area where the competitions will be held is determined and
the environmental conditions are examined. Since below the specified minimum flight
altitude is considered to be outside the flight limits; in cases where the flight is lower
than the minimum altitude, the rules of boundary violation will apply and the penalty
points will be determined with the principles of out of bounds penalty.
Competitors are required to show the competition boundaries and no-fly zones
(Air Defence System and Signal Jamming Zones) on the map on the user interface
of their ground control stations. This situation will be examined by the competition
referees during the technical controls. Teams that do not show the competition
boundaries on the user interface will not be able to pass the technical controls. In
addition, the relevant boundaries and the current position of the aircraft must remain
visible to the table referee throughout the competition in order to detect a possible
boundary violation. The border corner coordinates will be shared with the competitors
on the first competition day when the technical controls start.

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7.2.3 Total Points
The total points that can be obtained at the end of the competition will be a maximum
of 100 points and the calculation will be made as follows.

Total Score = Total Scaled Task Score * 0.7 + STV * 0.15 + KTR * 0.15

7.3 Autonomy and Lockdown Assessment Method

When evaluating whether take-off, flight and landing are autonomous, the packet sent
to the server is taken as reference and its flow is as follows.

The sample video for deadlock evaluation will be added to the official website of the
competition.

Figure 5: Autonomous scoring flowchart

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8 Awards
Teams that successfully complete autonomous take-off, landing and flight and
autonomous locking tasks in at least one of the competition rounds to be organised
will be eligible to enter the award ranking.
The winning teams will be awarded the prize money specified in the table below. The
prizes specified in this table show the total amount to be given to the teams that are
entitled to receive awards, individual awards will not be made. First, second and third
prizes will be divided equally according to the total number of Team Members and
will be deposited into the bank account specified by each individual.
Within the scope of the competition, the advisor of the ranked team is paid. 3.000,00
₺ will be paid to the advisors of our ranked teams. If the consultant does not come to
the competition area, the consultant award will not be given.

Award Counsellor

First 200.000 TL 6.000 TL

Second 150.000 TL 6.000 TL

Third 120.000 TL 6.000 TL

Table 4 : Prize Amounts
Best Team Spirit Award: This award is given to the teams that aim to finalise the
tasks undertaken in the competition area and the work plans in the field in the best
way, and to the teams that reflect their energy in the field in the best way, regardless
of whether success is achieved in this purpose. The evaluation will be made by
looking at the field work as a team, the effort, skill, intra-team and inter-team
communication, etc. in the field. The specified award is for prestige purposes and has
no material equivalent.
Most Original Software Award: Software evaluations are carried out by the
Competition Evaluation Board together with the report stages. The submitted
software product will be evaluated in terms of functionality, reliability, infrastructure
and system architecture compatible with current high technology, and the team with
the most original software will be determined by the relevant advisory board. The
mentioned award is for prestige purposes and does not have a financial equivalent.
Finalists are advised to use auxiliary documents such as reports, presentations or
flow diagrams in order to explain their software and algorithms more easily to the
software evaluation committee.
Best Design Award: Competitor teams that do not use ready-made airframes in
aircraft design and production, but design and produce their own designs, and have
flown at least once will be evaluated for this award. The specified award is for prestige
purposes and has no financial equivalent.
Best System Architecture: Teams that have worked on the compatibility of
subsystems with each other, their redundancy, the compatibility of the selection
criteria of the devices used with the competition concept, and original subsystem

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 development will be evaluated in this category. The specified award is for prestige
purposes and does not have a financial equivalent.

8.1 Minimum Success Criteria for Award Ranking

Teams that successfully complete autonomous take-off, landing and flight and
autonomous locking tasks in at least one of the competition rounds to be organised
will be eligible to enter the award ranking. Autonomous take-off, landing, flight and
lockout must be demonstrated in the same competition round.

8.2 Mansion Mention Awards

Competitors must perform autonomous landing, take-off, flight and lock-on in at least
one of the competitions to be eligible for the award. The first three places of the
competition are determined from the teams that fulfil the award criteria. If there are
not enough teams that fulfil the award criteria to fill the first three ranks or if no team
fulfils the award criteria, the teams that have not fulfilled the award criteria are
evaluated according to the point order for the vacant rank. Teams that fail to fulfil the
award criteria will receive an mansion mention award to be determined by the
Advisory Board instead of the competition prize.

For example;
If only 2 of the 20 teams participating in the competition fulfil the award criteria, these
teams are ranked first and second according to the points they receive. Since there
is no team that fulfils the award criteria for the third place, the teams that did not fulfil
the criteria are considered. The team with the highest score among these teams is
determined as the third. Even if this team's score is higher than the first and second,
it is ranked behind these teams because it does not fulfil the criteria. The first and
second teams that fulfil the criteria receive the announced first and second prizes of
the competition, while the third team that did not fulfil the criteria receives an
honorable mention award.

9 Security Needs

All UAVs will undergo a safety check before the test or competition flights. The team
that cannot pass the safety check cannot fly.

The following are the minimum inspections that will be in the security checks:

1. Determining whether the vehicle is compatible with the vehicle shown in the
competition final report prepared by the team.
2. Examination of the safety of the vehicle in terms of structural / visual integrity.
3. Determination that all components are securely mounted on the UAV. Determination
that all connections are tight and made with safety wire, liquid adhesive and/or nuts.
Selection of connection materials in a way to prevent the connections from breaking
during flight.

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4. Determination of the structural and connection integrity of the propeller.
5. Inspection of all electronic wiring to ensure that cables and connectors of adequate
thickness are used.
6. Radio range control, engine on and off.
7. Determining whether all control mechanisms of the UAV have sufficient precision.
8. Examination of the general integrity of the load system.
9. All aircraft are capable of automatically switching to failsafe mode in case of signal
loss.
10. Mounting the fuse in an easily accessible place on the outer surface of the UAV.

During the competition, the aircraft of the teams must not go beyond the specified
flight area. In addition to the flight area restriction, there is also a flight restriction on
the vertical axis. Flight boundary coordinates and flight altitude limitations will be
shared with the teams before the competitions.
If the UAV is outside these limits for 10 seconds at a time, the team will be eliminated
from the relevant competition. The aircraft must be landed.
If the telemetry connection is lost during the competition, the referees have the right
to land the aircraft. If the telemetry data to the server is not returned within 10 seconds
after being warned, or if there are more than 3 disconnections under 10 seconds, the
relevant team will be penalised with an area occupation penalty and their aircraft will
be grounded.

The award of autonomous take-off/landing points for teams that take off/land
dangerously is at the discretion of the referee committee.

The "failsafe" states that the vehicles should enter in case the control connection is
broken are given below.

If the flight mode is Manual:

● In case of 10 seconds of communication interruption, the UAV must terminate the

flight.

Flight termination must be carried out in the following manner:

● Gas cut-off
● Full up altitude
● Full right rudder
● Full right (left) Aileron

If the flight mode is Autonomous:

● Enter return-to-launch mode (circle over the designated point) and wait.

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10. General Rules
Click here to access the General Rules booklet which is valid within the scope of the
competition.

11. Code of Ethics

Click here to access the General Rules booklet which is valid within the scope of the
competition.

Statement of Responsibility
T3 Foundation and TEKNOFEST are in no way responsible for any product delivered
by the competitors or for any injury or damage caused by the competitor. T3
Foundation and the organisation authorities are not responsible for any damages
caused by the competitors to third parties. T3 Foundation and TEKNOFEST are not
responsible for ensuring that the teams prepare and implement their systems within
the framework of the laws of the Republic of Türkiye.

Technology Team Foundation of Türkiye reserves the right to make any changes
in this specification.

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