NASA Opens Registration for the 2014 Unmanned Aircraft Systems Competition  



By Ashley Addington



Teams from across the country will have an opportunity to win a $500,000 prize for flying the most successful autonomous unmanned aircraft system as part of a new NASA Centennial Challenge.



The goal of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Airspace Operations Challenge, conducted in partnership with Ohio’s Development Projects Inc., is to help reduce the technical challenges of safely operating UAS in commercial airspace.



Competing teams will travel to Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center in Indiana and perform a series of tests and demonstrations to show their vehicles’ capabilities. The vehicles will have to perform while a manned aircraft is flown in the same airspace. 



"This challenge can help to stimulate private sector investment that is many times greater than the cash value of the prize and increase the number and diversity of individuals, organizations and teams that are addressing advancement of autonomous unmanned aircraft systems technology," Michael Gazarik, NASA's associate administrator for space technology in Washington, said in a press release. 



In the Centennial Challenges, NASA provides the purse and nonprofits allied organizations, such as Development Projects Inc., manage the competitions and cover the cost of operations through commercial or private sponsorships.



Registration for this event opens on October 2 and will be available until the end of the 2013 year. For more information, go to the competition website at http://uasaoc.org.