Team MechFly clinches 2nd place at Singapore Amazing Flying Machine Competition (SAFMC) (Unconventional Category)

Team MechFly from the Department of Mechanical Engineering (ME) clinched 2^nd Place in the 2019 Singapore Amazing Flying Machine Competition (SAFMC), Category E (Unconventional). The event was held at ITE College Central on 22 March 2019.

SAFMC is an annual competition organised by DSO National Laboratories and Science Centre Singapore, and consists of several categories, open to participants from all backgrounds and nationalities. The 2019 edition saw active participation from more than a hundred teams from Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Indonesia.

Team MechFly participated in Category E, where teams from different universities and organisations bring their most unconventional flying machines to the table, taking on a challenging obstacle course. In this category, there was a modular flying machine, a flying and rolling machine, a gigantic aircraft carrier drone and many other flying machines with whacky designs. Team MechFly’s design was a Flapping Wing Quadcopter, which is a hybrid flying machine that generates lift for flight using a combination of 4 propellers and 4 sets of flapping wings.

Team MechFly booth display. (Left) Senior Minister of State for Ministry of Defence Mr Heng Chee How, (right) ME students Yu Shi Bin and Ryan Ho.

The MechFly team who participated in SAFMC 2019 consists of six undergraduate students from Mechanical Engineering. The members are, Yu Shi Bin (Team Leader), Kerk Zheng An (Pilot), Brian Leonard Suhadi, Joel Goh Yi Jin, Tan Chu Wen Samuel and Ryan Ho Hin Tsang. The MechFly team is under the mentorship of Dr Chan Woei Leong (advisor), dedicated to design and fabrication of flapping wing micro-air-vehicle (MAV).

The SAFMC 2019 Category E consisted of 2 main segments, the presentation and flight challenge. During the flight challenge, Team MechFly’s mission was to navigate through different obstacles and successfully carry out an “artificial pollination” mission. The artificial pollination is demonstrated through releasing a payload of glitter throughout the flying arena using a specially made device. The glitter is scattered throughout the arena using a natural phenomenon produced by the flapping wings called the “downwash effect”. This simple yet unconventional method was a first in the competition and eventually left a deep and lasting impression of the judges.

 

Team MechFly’s briefing and presentation to the judges.

 

 

 

Team MechFly 2019 full member list:

1. Yu Shi Bin (Year 3, Team Leader 2)
2. Kerk Zheng An (Year 3, Pilot)
3. Brian Leonard Suhadi (Year 3)
4. Joel Goh Yi Jin (Year 3)
5. Tan Chu Wen Samuel (Year 3)
6. Ryan Ho Hin Tsang (Year 2)
7. Kavanoor Janarthanam Himantha Reddy (Year 3, Team Leader 1)
8. Andy Ng (Year 3)
9. Varun Honnavalli (Year 3)
10. Dayalan Aravindhan (Year 3)
11. Akshat Hans (Year 3)
12. Laurence Michael Calija (Year 3)
13. Sim Boon Liang (Year 4)
14. Kenneth Kwek Kai Wen (Year 4)

 

Visit Team MechFly at https://www.facebook.com/NUS.ME.MECHFLY/

Students who are interested in joining the team can contact Dr. Chan Woei Leong at tslcwl@nus.edu.sg

 

We would like to thank our sponsors (below) for making our participation in the SAFMC 2019 a huge success.