US-Asian Unmanned Ground Vehicle Conference

The 1st US-Asian Demonstration and Assessment of Micro-Aerial and Unmanned Ground Vehicle Technology was recently held in Agra, India.

There was a competition for micro-aerial unmanned systems involving 12
teams that got the required flight and security clearances. The test missions required flying and ground vehicles to work together to accomplish simulated mine detection and hostage finding, as well as other tasks.

There was a tie for first place between the teams from
MIT, Ecole Nationale de l'Aviation Civile, University of Arizona, and Martin Mueller Engineering. The MIT team led by Professor Nick Roy came in first in two categories including Best Mission Performance, and Best Rotorcraft Performance.
Their vehicle, which I happened to see a while ago, uses eight propellors arranged in a circular upward-facing design.

The event was organized jointly by National Aerospace Laboratories (CSIR), India, Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (DRDO), India and US Army RDECOM (International Technology Center - Pacific).