Robohub.org
Flying Donkey Challenge
Sadly, the Flying Donkey Challenge was put on hold indefinitely. See details here.
Will we see flying donkeys racing around Mount Kenya with 20 kilo payloads in 2020? The dream of lifting Africa will come one step closer when the 2014 preliminary “Flying Donkey Challenge” takes place in Kenya in November, but entries, including grant applications, close on February 28.
The Flying Donkey Challenge is a project of the La Fondation Bundi, a non-profit initiative of the Afrotech project at EPFL, the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, and the NCCR, the Swiss National Center of Competence for Research in Robotics.
The foundation seeks to pioneer a new transportation system for the world by developing robots with rugged air frames capable of safe and cheap unmanned flight of heavy cargo over long distances. We call these robots flying donkeys.
La Fondation Bundi is committed to promoting an African designed and assembled flying donkey industry capable of improving the transport infrastructure in areas without good roads. The goal of the foundation is to have tens of thousands of flying donkeys operational within a generation.
There are various technical, legal, logistical and design issues facing challengers and the foundation has broken the Flying Donkey Challenge into subchallenges. Teams may win large cash prizes for the best solutions across the range of subchallenges. Some of the subchallenges are:
- Precision take off and landing
- GPS denied navigation
- Sense and avoid
- Cargo delivery
- FD business plan competition
- FD legal paper competition tba
- FD logistics paper competition tba
Amazon better look to Africa because the first commercial drone deliveries look like coming from Flying Donkeys not UPS delivery drones.
tags: c-Events
Andra Keay
is the Managing Director of Silicon Valley Robotics, founder of Women in Robotics and is a mentor, investor and advisor to startups, accelerators and think tanks, with a strong interest in commercializing socially positive robotics and AI.
Andra Keay
is the Managing Director of Silicon Valley Robotics, founder of Women in Robotics and is a mentor, investor and advisor to startups, accelerators and think tanks, with a strong interest in commercializing socially positive robotics and AI.
Related posts :
Robot Talk Episode 126 – Why are we building humanoid robots?
Robot Talk
20 Jun 2025
In this special live recording at Imperial College London, Claire chatted to Ben Russell, Maryam Banitalebi Dehkordi, and Petar Kormushev about humanoid robotics.
Gearing up for RoboCupJunior: Interview with Ana Patrícia Magalhães
AIhub and Lucy Smith
18 Jun 2025
We hear from the organiser of RoboCupJunior 2025 and find out how the preparations are going for the event.
Robot Talk Episode 125 – Chatting with robots, with Gabriel Skantze
Robot Talk
13 Jun 2025
In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Gabriel Skantze from KTH Royal Institute of Technology about having natural face-to-face conversations with robots.
Preparing for kick-off at RoboCup2025: an interview with General Chair Marco Simões
AIhub and Lucy Smith
12 Jun 2025
We caught up with Marco to find out what exciting events are in store at this year's RoboCup.
Interview with Amar Halilovic: Explainable AI for robotics
AIhub
10 Jun 2025
Find out about Amar's research investigating the generation of explanations for robot actions.
Robot Talk Episode 124 – Robots in the performing arts, with Amy LaViers
Robot Talk
06 Jun 2025
In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Amy LaViers from the Robotics, Automation, and Dance Lab about the creative relationship between humans and machines.
Robot Talk Episode 123 – Standardising robot programming, with Nick Thompson
Robot Talk
30 May 2025
In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Nick Thompson from BOW about software that makes robots easier to program.
Congratulations to the #AAMAS2025 best paper, best demo, and distinguished dissertation award winners
AIhub
29 May 2025
Find out who won the awards presented at the International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems last week.
