Team DroneMan Won Open Category Drone Championship
The Indian robotics team secured the top prize at the SLIIT Robo Fest 2026 by demonstrating autonomous drone control.
Updated on Sept. 30, 2026 in Robotics
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Team DroneMan, representing the Droneman Academy, outperformed more than 30 competitors to win the Open Category Drone Championship at the SLIIT Robo Fest 2026. The win confirms the team's engineering precision in navigating complex aerial challenges.
Why it matters
The event highlights the growing regional focus on autonomous drone technology and the importance of competitive robotics in developing advanced engineering skills. It underscores how academic-led competitions serve as testing grounds for emerging aerial control systems.
The team demonstrated mastery of autonomous drone technology, navigating through flight challenges that required precise aerial control. They bested 30 other teams in a competition that has been a staple of STEM education at SLIIT for over 16 years.
The players
Team DroneMan
An Indian robotics team representing the Droneman Academy that specializes in autonomous aerial systems.
SLIIT
The Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology, an institution focused on higher education and STEM outreach.
The details
Participants in the Open Category Drone Championship were required to execute flight paths that demanded high levels of aerial control—the ability to maintain stable, precise movement in three-dimensional space. The competition tested engineering precision, focusing on the software and hardware integration necessary for a drone to navigate an environment without constant human intervention. The event took place at SLIIT Robo Fest, which has integrated STEM education initiatives for over 16 years.
Timeline
The SLIIT Robo Fest 2026 occurred in September 2026.
The Tech Race
This win reflects the increasing technical proficiency in autonomous robotics coming out of regional specialized academies. It follows a 16-year trend of growing competitive engagement at SLIIT, which has attracted more than 2,500 participants since its inception.
The winning team received a cash prize of Rs. 100,000 for their demonstration of autonomous flight capabilities. For students and developers, the results highlight the increasing importance of mastering autonomous navigation and sensor integration in competitive robotics environments.
The takeaway
The performance of Team DroneMan signals that autonomous aerial capability is becoming more accessible for competitive robotics teams in India. Interested observers should monitor future SLIIT Robo Fest event reports to track how engineering benchmarks for drone precision evolve in upcoming iterations.
Further reading
Explore more developments in the Robotics sector to understand how autonomous systems are evolving.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Ada Derana.
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