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No. All the team members must be from a same institute. If your university has multiple institutions then,
each institution can send one team.
Refer to the section “Participating Teams” in the rule book IRoC-U 2026.
Only one team from each institute is permitted to participate in the contest. It is the responsibility of the institute to select the team based on their established criteria. Furthermore, the chosen team must secure an endorsement from the head of the institution, confirming that they are the sole representatives for their institute in the competition. If more than one entry is found from any institute, the first submitted proposal shall be entertained for the further rounds and the remaining proposals shall be rejected.
The competition is open only for Indian students, studying in Indian institutes recognized by AICTE / UGC.
Yes, it is mandatory to be pursuing under-graduation /post-graduation/research student from any recognized Indian institute.
The team should consist a minimum of 3 members and a maximum of 10 members excluding mentors. They must all be studying from the same Institute.
No, the event is open for students pursuing (full time and non-sponsored) under graduation/post-graduation/research.
All teams must complete the registration process on the website. The registration procedure includes:
- Team login account creation.
- Filling out the team details and download auto-generated registration form.
- Download registration form and get it duly certified by the Head of the institute.
- Upload the softcopy of the certified registration form along with the proposal in .pdf format (Proposal can be of maximum pages:20 with the file size limited to 15 MB).
The final proposal report needs to be submitted by 23:59 hrs (IST) 12th January, 2026..
The team should consist of minimum of 3 members and maximum of 10 members excluding mentors.
There is no payment required to participate in the challenge.
Any type of RF communication with ASCEND can be used or built. Hence, Wi-Fi communication also can be used.
There are no specific dimension requirements from IRoC-U 2026 perspective, but the team should consider the feasibility of the demonstration with arena size defined in the web portal.
GPS modules cannot be used in the contest.
The area enclosed by the yellow border (including the yellow border) is referred to as the arena.
Camera can be used as payload or sensor. Any type of suitable camera can be selected. However, ensure that, the overall weight of the ASCEND shall not exceed 2 kg.
Open-source drone firmware can be used. Team can modify/tweak the firmware to implement navigation algorithms indigenously developed by the team.
In this context, “indigenous” means developed by contestants.
ASCEND has to work in flight mode at least for 5 minutes (typical) or till it completes all the tasks.
Yes, layout for elimination round will be provided (like in last year).
Emergency call off mode is more essentially required during flight mode and hence must be able to receive commands during any abnormal behaviour of the flying craft. Once it receives the command, it must gradually descend and land. ASCEND should be hard-coded with SAFE mode as per the rule book. In case if ASCEND is not able to switch to safe mode, the same shall be achieved by sending a command through a physical button on base station or by sending a command from the base station.
One internal and external mentor is permitted for the contest. After registration, neither modification of team nor inclusion of mentor/team members is allowed.
No. All the team members must be from a same institute. If your university has multiple institutions then, each institution can send one team.
Yes, teams may use base station / remote pc for data processing. But during the tasks of the challenge, no manual intervention is allowed.
The arena described by IRoC-U 2026 may or may not be identical to the Mars terrain in all aspects. Hence, we cannot guarantee the proposed method will work on the described arena.
There are no obstacles above 3 m from the mean surface of arena.
The team can use flight controllers available in market. Open-source drone firmware can be used. However, team can modify/tweak the firmware to implement navigation algorithms indigenously developed by the team. The teams are not allowed to preload any arena details/map before the flight during the challenge. Arena scanning, mapping, identification and navigation is to be done in real time during the challenge.
The maximum height of flight or hovering is limited to 10 m. However, the exact height will be provided after the announcement of arena details. ASCEND can hover at heights between 3 m to the maximum height allowed.
ASCEND overall weight including all flight elements (including battery) must be less than or equal to 2 kg.
Sensors like, LIDAR, Optical flow, Distance sensors on-board are allowed on ASCEND.
Pseudolite and reflector arrays are not allowed in the arena (as they are not available on the Martian surface). IRoC-U 2026 challenge is to develop navigation techniques under similar conditions.
Teams should strictly follow and adhere to the General rules and regulations detailed in IRoC-U Rule book. Teams may receive sponsorship and display sponsor logos under the following conditions:
- Placement Restrictions: Sponsor logos are not permitted on the ASCEND.
- Approved Usage: Logos may only be featured on apparel, such as T-shirts, caps, and similar wearable items.
- Advertising Limitations: Sponsors are prohibited from displaying banners or engaging in promotional advertising related to the Challenge. Violations of these terms may result in disqualification or other appropriate penalties/actions.
Addition or removal or replacement of team member is not allowed after registration date.
Yes, subjected to proper reasoning. The same may be brought to notice of IRoC-U 2026 organizing team.
Yes. The teams need to build the suggested arena in their college premises. The details will be provided for teams who enter qualification rounds.
There will be no special mail regarding qualification to next/following/subsequent rounds from the IRoC-U Committee 2026.
The qualifying teams for the next/following rounds will be displayed on the website.
Each team has to develop their own base station. Base station will not be provided by the organizers.
Typical Base Station dimensions (L × B × H): 1m × 1m × 0.5m.
The base station has to be positioned within the arena in the space provided by the organizers.
Validation must be done by the teams using their base station hardware/software.
The results will be verified by the Organizers (Evaluation Committee).
YES. Laptops and computing platforms can be used in the base station for image processing and validation,
provided they are not connected to the internet.
Conditions are defined in the Rule Book.
Please refer to Section 9.2.2.2 & 9.3.4.
Autonomous activity of UAV should be done without help from the base station.
Wireless communication can be used between UAV and base station for data transfer and system coordination.
However, organizers cannot assure an unpolluted RF arena due to possible interference from other participants.
Designers should account for likely interference.
Images will be Nadir views and there will be a minimum seed image resolution.
The automatic image matching algorithm will not be provided by the organizers.
Participants must develop their own algorithms.
Validation is to be done by participants, and the organizing team will perform evaluation.
The validation method (image matching, coordinates, or both) is left to the designers.
Arena Dimensions: 30 ft × 25 ft (Typical).
The boundary (arena perimeter) will be demarcated by a yellow boundary,
and the arena will be caged by a net.
YES. Manual control can be invoked in case of a contingency under the emergency call-off mode.
The best case is completing all challenge tasks in a single sortie, which carries the highest evaluation weightage.
The number of sorties is limited by the allocated/stipulated time decided by the organizers.
For the final round challenge, the seed images will be low-resolution/sub-sampled images
of select features in the Arena.
The arena will be scaled without compromising on the features.
Deviations from the initial baseline proposal are allowed only if they improve UAV performance
to meet the objectives of the challenge.
ISRO will not provide any software or hardware for the challenge.
Only a standard A.C. power supply outlet will be provided.
Validation is part of the challenge and must be implemented by the designers/participants.
ISRO does not provide any API or similar interface for validation or matching.
YES. Laptops are permitted in the base station for computation and remote monitoring only.
The UAV is allowed to communicate with the base station for data transfer and system coordination.
YES. (It is to be noted that there is a likelihood of RF interference from the vicinity.)
Any technology without GPS or remote piloting is permitted for autonomous mode of operation.
YES. It is MANDATORY to have a provision for a manual Kill Switch,
to be operated in case of a contingency.
For the final field round challenge, a sub-sampled image of a part of the arena will be provided.
It will be representative of a typical planetary surface.
Each sortie image validation must be done by the participants using hardware/software
residing in the base station. Once satisfied, teams can submit images to evaluators
for further evaluation.
Seed images are sub-sampled images and not raw images.
Identifying the location in the arena and capturing through UAV hardware
is left to the designers.
Computation using a laptop at the base station is allowed.
Computation on Cloud is NOT allowed.
Markers are allowed on the base station for landing.
Identifying patterns on the base station are allowed for charging port alignment.
Arena boundary is marked yellow by organizers.
Other than these, no additional markers are allowed.
The mentor must be a faculty member of the institute or from the industry.
Freelancers or self-employed professionals are not allowed.
The challenge does not require helium balloons for ASCEND stabilization.
Data transmission is allowed through both wired and/or wireless modes.
Optical fibre mode is considered as wired mode of data transfer.
Usage of Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs), specific coatings, and shielding is left to the designers,
provided the total ASCEND weight is limited to less than 2 kg.
NO. ISRO will not provide any datasets, sample images, or reference data.
The approach to handle or address the problem/challenge is left to the designers.
The feature to be identified could be anywhere inside the arena.
The arena perimeter will be clearly outlined by a yellow marker.
Survey outside the arena does not serve any purpose.
There will be a stipulated time fixed by the organizers to complete the challenge.
Multiple sorties can be attempted within this stipulated time.
The seed images will be provided on the day of the challenge.
Yes, UWB modules are allowed for localization with the base station.
Documentation should include BOTH individual subsystems and the complete integrated system.
The challenge can be completed with a single drone.
Charging for the final field round challenge must be autonomous.
Manual charging is NOT ALLOWED for the final field round.
Aruco markers are NOT allowed to be placed around/inside the arena
(except on the base station).
Intellectual Property includes the final ASCEND system design,
sub-systems, algorithms, software code, mechanical designs,
documentation, and concepts developed by the team.
Everything developed under the challenge is ISRO proprietary.
NO. ISRO will not retain the physical hardware.
Details regarding the scope and duration of the NDA will be notified later.
YES. A 230V A.C. outlet near the arena will be provided.
The base station need not necessarily be battery operated.
The base station is both the take-off and landing area in this challenge.
YES, for maximum weightage towards evaluation.
Mode of demonstration is left to designers. Please note that there is a stipulated time to complete the challenge.
Emergency instructions are clearly outlined in the rule book. For example, if a battery emergency is identified by ASCEND, it must perform an emergency landing.
Sloped landing is not applicable for IRoC-U 2026, as take-off and landing are from the base station, which will be positioned on a flat area inside the designated arena.
Aruco or any type of markers on the base station are allowed.
The number of ports required (one or two) to meet the challenge is left to the designers. Overall port numbers are limited to two.
UWB tags are allowed only on the base station
Motor cut-off is considered as failsafe
Base station has to be positioned (for the final field challenge round) inside the Arena area designated by the organizers
Physical Access to the base station during the sorties is not allowed due to autonomous nature of the challenge
In the final field, round at the start the challenge, UAV will be physically placed on the base station. Subsequent actions are all autonomous.
NOTE: Manual docking relaxation is allowed only during the qualification round. The manual docking concession in qualification round is basically to test the readiness of the participants to demonstrate UAV charging.
In the final field round challenge, Manual docking for UAV charging is strictly NOT ALLOWED.
The relaxation in computation and display of diagnostic parameters is only for qualification round
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