Non-Destructive Drone Capture System
Engineering · 5-10 hours
Due by April 24, 2025 at 1:00 PM UTC
About the Company
AeroParagon is an Austin, TX startup that specializes in low-cost drone defense solutions. AeroParagon has open internship positions for software and aerospace/mechanical engineers, but they will not sponsor relocation and you must be a US citizen. Feel free to submit your work regardless of your hiring eligibility.
Project Description
Stopping drones domestically during sporting events, at prisons, and even protecting airports is difficult due to current federal regulation and the risk of FOD (foreign object debris) falling on people or a runway while taking down an adversarial drone. AeroParagon is interested in novel approaches to capturing an adversarial drone target using another drone in order to minimize/eliminate the risk of FOD, minimize damage to the target drone, and allow for a safe and controlled landing. An ideal system would be a payload that attaches to our existing aerial platform, weighs less than five pounds, and is smaller than 5x5x5 inches, but we are open to alternate approaches that do not match the restrictions above.
Submission Criteria
Please submit a 2–4 page technical paper that clearly presents your concept. Include diagrams, renderings, sketches, or other visuals where they help explain your design. You do not need to follow the guidelines below exactly — they are just to give you an idea of what we are looking for.
A two-column LaTeX format (such as those used in Overleaf templates) is recommended, but you are welcome to use any software or formatting you are comfortable with—as long as the final document is clear and professional.
Suggested Sections
- Problem Understanding
- Brief description of the challenge and its constraints.
- Key safety, regulatory, and technical considerations.
- Concept Overview
- Clear, high-level explanation of your proposed solution.
- Describe the mechanism or payload design (if applicable).
- Highlight how it captures or neutralizes the target drone.
- Feasibility & Technical Details
- Estimated size, weight, and power needs (does not have to be thorough).
- Materials, mechanical design, or actuation method.
- Integration strategy with an existing drone platform (include assumptions).
- Risk mitigation and fail-safe considerations.
- Deployment & Operation Scenario
- Example use case: prison yard, stadium, or airport.
- Brief step-by-step of how the system operates in the field.
- Conclusion & Impact
- Summary of advantages over traditional kinetic takedown.
- Potential challenges and next steps for development.
- Appendix (not included in page count)
- Video/media links
- Tools used
- Citations
Evaluated On
- Creativity and originality
- Technical reasoning and feasibility
- Clarity and quality of presentation
Submission Files
- A 2–4 page whitepaper (PDF), addressing the criteria above.
- (optional) Additional media like animations, videos, or CAD files. Do not upload large videos directly, use a YouTube or Google Drive link.
- (optional) Your resume
Submission Instructions
Email your submission to ufoliosubmissions@gmail.com before the deadline. You may send questions to the same email address.
By submitting, you grant the partnering company a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to review, use, modify, and develop your submission—including for potential product development and commercialization purposes.