Opportunity brief
About the Event
AeroFloat is an indoor lighter-than-air (LTA) vehicle competition held under the Aero Fest vertical of Shaastra 2027 at IIT Madras. Teams will design, build, and fly a remotely controlled blimp. Because blimps operate in a slow, buoyancy-dominated regime that is highly sensitive to control input, the competition tests both piloting precision and real-time combat strategy.
Team & Venue Details
- Team Size: Up to 3 members per team.
- Participation Model: Open registration with an online technical check.
- Venue: Indoor venue at SAC Main Hall, IITM.
- Event Duration: 1 day.
Competition Stages
- Online Qualification Check
- Every registered team must submit a single continuous, unedited video demonstrating basic flight competency.
- The video must show an unassisted take-off, controlled climb and descent, controlled yaw, and an unassisted altitude hold with the vertical-thrust motor switched off.
- This round is evaluated on a pass/fail basis to grant an on-site Day 1 slot.
- Round 1: Precision Navigation
- All blimps must pass a Day 1 technical check to ensure they meet limits, it must fit in a box of dimensions 1m * 0.5 m * 0.5m, helium gas only, a custom-built gondola, and a maximum total weight of 800 g.
- Teams pilot their blimp through a 3D course of up to 10 suspended hoops within a 3-minute time limit.
- The top 6 teams from the leaderboard advance to the Grand Finale.
- Round 2: Aerial Combat (Grand Finale)
- The top 6 teams compete in a bracket-based, single-duel tournament inside a netted arena.
- The objective is to use a 5 cm standard pin to puncture the opponent's Mylar/BoPET envelope while protecting their own.
- A duel is won when the opponent's envelope is visibly punctured and loses lift.
Key Rules & Requirements
- Build Rules: Envelopes must be commercially purchased, while the gondola and electronics must be built from scratch by the team.
- Propulsion & Control: The blimp must use electric motors with propellers and be controlled via a 2.4 GHz RC; autonomous flight is not permitted.
- Safety: Helium is the only permitted lifting gas; the use of hydrogen will result in strict and immediate disqualification.
- Combat Conduct: Ramming with the gondola or contacting an opponent's electronics during combat is prohibited and leads to immediate disqualification.