AI-Driven Team Flights and Simulations Take Off at IIID

At the Iran International Innovation District (IIID), day two of the 2025 Technology Olympiad’s drone competitions featured coordinated group flights, fully autonomous single-drone missions, and advanced simulations, demonstrating how AI algorithms, sensors, and precise engineering merge in modern UAV operations.

From early morning, participating teams prepared drones for synchronized maneuvers and formation flights — from fully autonomous single UAVs to multi-drone formations in linear, triangular, and horizontal layouts. Every flight combined software engineering, AI, and advanced hardware integration to create real-time aerial choreography.

Competition Highlights
Mohammad Razavi Fard, secretary of the drone competition, said today’s program included the Drone Battle, run in a knockout format, with 10 teams competing in five matches so far.

In the smart hardware section, 14 teams participated. Only one team flew on day one due to strong winds and GPS issues; today, 6 of the remaining 13 teams completed their single-drone flights, with 7 more scheduled for later. Each single-drone route covers at least 15 meters and a 500×6m rectangle, flown autonomously without pilot intervention unless required for safety.

Following the single-drone rounds, the smart group flight event began, with 14 teams flying in pairs or trios across a 60-meter path in pre-determined formations — linear, triangular, vertical, and horizontal — entirely without human control.

Alongside live flights, teams also competed in simulation events, executing predefined group flight scenarios in virtual environments with realistic conditions generated by advanced simulation engines.

Participant Perspectives
Mohammad Hossein Rostami and Ali Soleimani from the University of Zanjan, competing in simulation, said their aim was to build flight algorithms that could later run on real hardware (requiring up to 70% code rewriting). Scenarios included forming geometric shapes such as squares or lines before returning to the starting point. The team hopes to establish a multirotor lab at their university if they succeed.

Behzad Tabatabaei from Tehran, competing in both group flight and real-environment simulation with a four-member team from Sharif University of Technology, University of Tehran, and Amirkabir University, said all drone parts were supplied disassembled, requiring teams to assemble them before flying. He noted the high skill level of the teams and added that group flights are more complex than single-drone events due to the level of precision and coordination required.