Aidan Kuo

President

Board

Aerial Robotics

This is a badge for the SAC Fair - Instructional/Competitive category for the SAC Fair.

Engineering Student Activities Council constituent

This is a badge for the Fall 2021 SAC Fair.

This badge is for the 2022 Spring ESAC fair.

This is a badge for the Spring 2022 SAC Fair.

Undergraduate

<p>Aerial Robotics @ Penn is student-led team at the University of Pennsylvania for the development of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and robots. The club aims to provide students with the resources to construct, develop and test their own UAVs, travel to and compete at inter-collegiate competitions, and connect with people who share this same passion. During the 2026-27 school year, we will be designing and constructing micro-class planes, a large high-lift aircraft, and an autonomous tail-sitter VTOL aircraft to compete in 3 separate events at SAE Aero Design 2027. We will also develop a full stack autonomy codebase for a quadcopter robot swarm to compete in IARC, involving computer vision, path planning, and controls.&nbsp;</p>
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Preceptorial: Autonomous UAV Design

Interest Meeting

Use of specialized equipment or technology

Aerial Robotics @ Penn

UNDER REVIEW

Aerial Robotics @ Penn has been designing, building, programming, and flying UAVs since 2014. We compete in SAE Aero Design and International Aerial Robotics Competition (IARC)

I joined Penn Aerial Robotics in my freshman year, and I have been in the club ever since. Being on the team has allowed me to solidify the knowledge I was learning in class and incorporate it into a competition. However, the best part about Penn Aerial Robotics has to be the people you meet. I've learned a lot from the team members while working collaboratively in competitions. This is a hands-on experience where I am able to make a major impact on the team.

When I joined the Software Team my freshman year, I had next to zero coding experience. However, being a part of this club forced me to quickly ramp up in very specific areas of computer science, and I learned how to implement things that were not taught in my regular coursework. Getting a grade in a class is one thing, but actually building a product to use in competition is an entirely different yet critical area of expertise. Some of my best friendships were formed due to this club, and it has defined my Penn education. A fun time!!

I joined software last year as a freshman because robotics has always fascinated me, but was outside my major, so I knew I wasn't going to take many robotics classes. This team was a great way to learn without all of the pre-reqs required for robotics courses. It taught me tons of skills that I know will help in the real-world. For example, most CIS projects are individual, but industry usually works in teams. I had never coded as part of a group before and would never have learned how to use GitHub without this team. Joining PennAir was also a great choice because I got to meet an amazing group of people. I was super excited for every meeting because I was learning cool skills and solving interesting problems as part of an awesome team.

I joined the mechanical team as a freshman, looking to gain practical experience in the field as a MEAM major. I've heard some great things about the club, but I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. From the start, I found myself in a collaborative, hands-on environment. With weekly meetings on the weekends, the overall atmosphere is chill, and everyone is super helpful. Over the course of the year, I learned a lot about various fabrication techniques including CAD, laser-cutting, and 3D printing. Applying these techniques in the context of constructing a VTOL was challenging but very rewarding. If you love building cool stuff or want some fun engineering experience in general, I highly recommend joining the PennAir mechanical team!

Get Tickets for Aug 22, 2026, 11:00 AM

Preceptorial: Autonomous UAV Design

Hosted by Aerial Robotics @ Penn