STCC student competes in Collegiate Drone Racing National Championship
Micah Hau, an STCC student, with his two drone quadcopters.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Micah Hau of Ludlow represented Springfield Technical Community College in a national drone racing competition on April 15 at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind.
Hau, 26, competed against students from schools around the country during the first ever Collegiate Drone Racing National Championship. Forty-eight pilots represented 27 colleges and universities. Hau placed 22nd out of 48.
Micah Hau, left, with goggles, pilots his drone during the competition at Purdue University.
Hau said he had fun competing and representing STCC. “It went really well, and everything went really smoothly,” he said.
Hau, who is studying electrical engineering technology at STCC, built two drones, which are unmanned aircraft equipped with cameras. Wearing a head-mounted display, Hau pilots the drone by watching a live stream feed from the drone’s point of view and controlling the aircraft’s movement with a hand-held transmitter.
Hau’s racing drones, called “quadcopters” because they have four small propellers, can fly at speeds of up to 60 mph. He said the fastest drones can reach around 140 mph, but judges do not choose champions based on the speed of the drones. They judge the pilots’ ability to maneuver their aircraft through gates.
Drones in action during the competition at Purdue.
“It is obstacle-based,” Hau said. “You have to turn and then go up through another gate. It brings in skill level, where you have to actually be good at flying.”
A great pilot has excellent muscle memory and reaction time, Hau said. Pilots also need to “tune” the quads. That means they set levels in the flight controller, which affects the drone’s reaction time when the pilot gives an input from the transmitter.
Hau holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from UMass, but decided to pursue his electrical engineering technology associate degree from STCC because it fits with his goal to work in robotics.
Rick Jagodowski, Electrical Engineering Technology department chair, said, “Micah is a very enthusiastic student in our Electrical Engineering Technology Program here at STCC. Many of the topics taught in our E.E.T. program such as control systems, robotics, automation, system interfacing, motor controls, electronic components and circuits and power management are all used to varying degrees in drone technology. Micah puts these theories into practice with his drone building, flying and racing.”
Hau has demonstrated his drones for the eMakers Club at STCC, an organization composed of students interested in technology.
STCC President Dr. John B. Cook and Micah Hau.
Last year, he competed in the New England Drone Racing Championships near Boston. He placed 11th out of 38.
What does Hau like best about drone racing?
“Pretty much all of it, from building to flying,” Hau said. “It’s really an out-of-body experience. You’re sitting there. You put on the goggles and you take off. There’s really no other experience like it, because you don’t feel like you’re in your body anymore. You’re way up in the air and you’re flying wherever you want to go. It’s like being on a roller coaster without actually having to be on it.”
If you’re interested in applying to STCC’s School of Engineering Technologies & Mathematics or have questions, call Admissions at (413) 755-3333. You can also apply online: http://www.stcc.edu/admissions/applynow.asp.
About Springfield Technical Community College
Founded in 1967 and located on 35 acres of the Springfield Armory National Historic Site, STCC is a major resource for the economic vitality of Western Massachusetts. As the only technical community college in Massachusetts, STCC, an Achieving the Dream Leader College, offers a variety of career programs unequalled in the state. STCC’s highly regarded transfer programs in business, engineering, liberal arts, science and technology continue to provide the most economical options for students pursuing a four-year degree. With an annual enrollment of more than 8,500 day, evening, weekend and online students, STCC is a vibrant campus rich in diversity.
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Media Contact:
Jim Danko, Coordinator of Media Relations, jdanko@stcc.edu, (413) 755-4812