High school drone team scores big

Q.I. Roberts Junior-Senior High School drone students racked up awards again at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Drone Olympics.

Sophomores Mark Lewandowski and Brandon Stouffer took first and second place in the drone racing competition. A team of Lewandowski, Stouffer and senior Justin Tillis took second in the Drone Tank competition, based of the idea-pitching TV show “Shark Tank,” where students must design an innovative and practical use for drones.

Last year, then-sophomores Paige Griner and Sofia Jolley took second in the Drone Tank for showing how thermal imaging on drones could assist with first responders’ searches during natural disasters.

Contestants raced virtually through a program called the Drone Racing League. The university decided the type of drone and what course students would fly.

“I’ve gone flying and I just love it up there,” Lewandowski said of his win. “It’s overall a fun area for me, so this competition gave me a way to join in and be productive.”

Stouffer said the experience was invaluable for college applications. He said the Drone Tank and racing were fun ways to learn about the industry and innovation. 

“It’s a fun experience being on a team and competing, especially during the racing,” Stouffer said.

Lewandowski said the project had a bumpy start because the group’s previous idea had already been done and they had two weeks to come up with a new idea.

The trio devised a target-shooting drone, similar to skeet shooting or clay pigeons. Equipped with a sensor, the drone could be shot out with a laser pointer or other devices.

“A drone could zig-zag and jump around and be a lot harder to shoot than a clay pigeon that goes in a straight arc,” Stouffer said.

Instructor Daniel Lewandowski, Mark Lewandowski’s father who is also an adjunct professor at Embry-Riddle, has a classroom at Q.I Roberts with multiple drones on its shelves. Numerous joysticks and controllers for flight simulators take up a wall.

“I’m very proud of these four students. They’ve worked hard. They’ve worked weekends,” Daniel Lewandowski said. “I’ll be sad when the seniors leave, but we’ll get a chance to work some of the younger kids into the team and we have a bright future ahead of us.”

The drone team is also on the hunt for the top prize at the national Aerospace Robotics Competition. The final results will be released Monday.

Senior Cole Smith, who is the lead drone programmer on the national project, said competitors must design a flight path for it to run pre-defined tests. He will attend the University of Florida with a focus on computer science.

“I think it’s definitely cool to get the kind of hands-on experience we get with building and designing drones,” Smith said.

Tillis said few high schools offer similar programs and he’s watched his school’s program grow. Tillis, who will attend Embry-Riddle, recently passed a remote pilot license test at the Federal Aviation Administration testing center in St. Augustine. He can now run his own business involving drones.

“I’ll be working on that,” Tillis said. “I’ve got to figure out a name.”

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