Dallas ISD Robotics takes flight with aerial drone competition

The Computer Science and Technology team at Dallas ISD hosted the Aerial Drone Competition at Alex Sanger Preparatory in January. Over 100 students from three school districts competed in the unique competition.

“This is the first year we are competing in the drone racing competition and students love it,” first-year drone coach Ernest Barlow from Dallas Environmental Science Academy said.

The competition allows students to learn engineering and programming by building their own ready-to-fly drone and autonomously navigating the drone through an obstacle course. Teams also learn about drone flight principles, documentation and communication skills.

“This event is another great team-building, problem-solving, and collaboration extracurricular activity for all Dallas ISD students,” Barlow said.

The next competition will be on March 11 at Bryan Adams High School. Teams that advance at these competitions qualify for the Aerial Drone Regional Championship in Houston in April.