TEKNOFEST 2026 Swarm UAV Competition Final Will Be Held in Gaziantep

Swarm UAV technologies, which enable unmanned aerial vehicles to operate in coordination with each other instead of acting individually, are preparing to play a critical role in the defense and civilian applications of the future. This technology, which has a wide range of uses, from detection of forest fires to disaster management, from reconnaissance and surveillance activities to defense technologies, will be tested in real mission scenarios with innovative solutions developed by young people within the scope of TEKNOFEST 2026.

TEKNOFEST 2026 Swarm UAV Competition aims to develop software, algorithms and systems that enable UAVs to perform specified autonomous tasks as a swarm and to test these technologies in real world conditions. In the competition, flocks consisting of at least three active UAVs are expected to act in coordination with each other and successfully complete the assigned tasks.

CHALLENGING MISSIONS FROM ONE-COMMAND TAKE-OFF TO AUTONOMOUS LANDING

The Dynamic Swarm Capability Task of the competition will comprehensively test the autonomy and coordination ability of the systems developed by the teams. The UAV swarm, which starts the mission in a random formation, will take off simultaneously with a single command and move into the starting formation. Then, reaching the QR code point on the route, the herd will autonomously detect and analyze the QR code through its cameras and continue its mission according to the commands it receives.

At this stage, the swarm will need to change formation, perform inclined flights, change altitude, and perform different tasks in coordination, such as adding a new UAV to the swarm or separating a UAV from the swarm. A UAV that leaves the herd during the mission will land autonomously on the designated colored landing area, deactivate its system, and rejoin the herd when its time expires. At the end of the mission, the flock will update its orientation according to the target QR point, return to the starting area and perform an autonomous landing safely.

ONE OPERATOR, MORE THAN ONE UAV

The Semi-Autonomous Herd Control Task, which constitutes the second leg of the competition, will highlight the coordination between humans and the autonomous system. Teams' flocks will be managed synchronously with operator input given via a single joystick or RC controller.

In this mission, the UAVs are expected to maintain their formations and collectively move forward-backward, left-right, ascend-descend and rotate on their own axis. In addition, directing the formation in an inclined manner while keeping the center of the herd constant is among the tasks that will test the control abilities of the teams.

A total of 165 teams and 806 members applied to the competition, which brings together young engineers and technology developers who will shape the future of Swarm UAV technologies. 19 teams and 171 members who successfully completed the Preliminary Design Report, Preliminary Evaluation Presentation, Critical Design Report and Flight Evidence and Software Evaluation Video stages qualified for the finals.

Finalist teams come from 12 different provinces of Turkey. The teams that made it to the finals from Sakarya, Kırşehir, Konya, Erzurum, Adana, Istanbul, Erzincan, Kocaeli, Bursa, Ankara, Tokat and Elazığ will compete to rank in Gaziantep with the swarm UAV systems they have developed.

YOUTH TECHNOLOGY RACE IS IN GAZİANTEP

T.R. The finals of the Swarm UAV Competition, which is among the competitions of TEKNOFEST, which encourages young people to produce and develop in advanced technology fields, under the leadership of the Ministry of Industry and Technology and the Turkish Technology Team Foundation (T3 Foundation) and with the contributions of stakeholder institutions, will be held at Gaziantep Green City Stadium between 7-11 September 2026.

On the first day of the final, after the opening and orientation, technical checks will be carried out and the teams will begin the Dynamic Herd Capability Task upon completion of the draw process. While the teams' autonomous herd technologies will be tested with the missions to be carried out between 7-9 September, the coordination ability of the herds under operator control will be evaluated within the scope of the Semi-Autonomous Herd Control Mission between 9-11 September. On the last day of the final process, honorable mention awards will be determined and a group photo will be taken.

The winning teams in the competition will receive the first prize of 300 thousand TL, the second prize of 250 thousand TL and the third prize of 200 thousand TL. For the rank reward, teams will need to score points from both tasks and reach at least 200 points in total. If these conditions are not met, honorable mention awards may be given by the jury's decision. Best Team Spirit, Most Original Software and Most Original Design awards will also be presented to the performing teams in the competition.

AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS OF THE FUTURE ARE DEVELOPING IN THE HANDS OF YOUTH

Competitions under the roof of TEKNOFEST, which support young people to grow up not only as technology users but also as individuals who develop and produce technology, stand out as one of the important building blocks of Turkey's high technology vision.

The Swarm UAV Competition stands out as one of the areas where this vision finds concrete response in future technologies such as autonomous systems and artificial intelligence-supported coordination.

The systems developed by the young teams in the final to be held in Gaziantep; It will be evaluated not only on their flight capabilities, but also on how a swarm of UAVs that can think, decide and share tasks together can work.