Outreach

The QuetzalC++ team will participate in the A2RL X DCL Autonomous Drone Challenge 2025 Grand Finale in Abu Dhabi

The QuetzalC++ team from the National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics (INAOE), specializing in the scientific and technological development of intelligent autonomous drones, will participate in the A2RL 2025 Grand Finale, which will be held from April 10th to 12th, 2025, at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center (ADNEC). The team will begin its participation at ADNEC on March 29th, in the preparation phase before the competition, which will begin on April 10th.

The QuetzalC++ team is comprised of Dr. Oyuki Rojas Perez, Nilda Gabriela Xolo Tlapanco, Aldrich Alfredo Cabrera Ponce and Dr. José Martínez Carranza, team leader and director of the intelligent drones group at INAOE, where Dr. Rojas is also a research collaborator and Nilda Xolo is a PhD student in Computer Science. Cabrera is a PhD student in Computer Science at the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP).

In November 2024, the QuetzalC++ team traveled by invitation to Abu Dhabi for the first time to compete in the qualifying round of the A2RL, qualifying to participate in the Grand Finale this April. The challenge is to program a drone that can fly as fast as possible in a drone race. Additionally, the challenge is to ensure that this autonomous drone can beat a human. The drone only has a camera, an inertial measurement unit, a flight controller, and an embedded processor. The use of other or external sensors is not permitted, and all processing must be done onboard.

The top 14 teams from around the world will participate in the event, with a prize pool of one million dollars. The QuetzalC++ team is the only Mexican team to qualify for this international event and the only one from Latin America.

The QuetzalC++ team received sponsorship from WG Drones S.A. de C.V., through its CEO, Xavie Paez Casanovas, a company dedicated to developing drones for outdoor air shows. The company donated four state-of-the-art drones so the QuetzalC++ team could prepare for the Grand Finale.

For more information, visit:

https://a2rl.io/autonomous-drone-race
https://ccc.inaoep.mx/~carranza/