u19 Winner: Young Professionals Honorary Mention
The idea for OpenDrone came from Tim Klecka. Last summer he began searching for an open source drone but was unable to find anything— there simply were no satisfactory open source drones that were modular, easy to build, simple to expand, and had a functional app for flight control.
Because Austria is currently suffering from a massive infestation of bark beetles, the project team wants to use the drone to contain this infestation. OpenDrone will therefore later be augmented to include a camera. The drone’s brain will be given an attachment as well, which by means of an artificial intelligence will recognize whether a tree is infested or not.
OpenDrone is open source, meaning that anyone can download the 3D printing data and software for free from GitHub and then assemble the device. The total cost of the drone is about 200 euros, making it significantly less expensive than various other overpriced drones. The drone will also have the capability of flying on autopilot.
