What our teams are up to with help from your donations

Find out what some of our teams have accomplished this year and what their upcoming plans are. If you'd like to help any of our teams with their future success, feel free to reach out to us at eng-cca-admin@sheffield.ac.uk or contact the individual teams using the link below.

Avis Drone Labs

In its very first year, Avis Drone Labs (ADL) has had a very busy start. Projects previously overseen by Falcon, Hex, Kestrel and SunStratos operate under this newly formed CCA. Overall, we have 7 projects:

• SUAS

• IMechE

• Athena

• FGCS

• Avinex

• FPV Drones

• Lightening

Of these, SUAS and IMechE contribute to international competitions where teams from around the world compete. Avinex and FPV Drones are our in-house beginner projects that allow students to upskill their drone knowledge. Athena and Lightening are medium-difficulty projects explicitly focused on aerodynamics, and FGCS is our custom ground control station software. 

ADL currently has 95 members, each with a unique skill set that has been improved throughout the year by training. For example, Vulcan (currently known as Athena) started off the year with carbon fibre vacuum forming its tail structure. The FPC Drones group had to upskill its members from scratch with avionics, structural, and manufacturing training delivered. These involved getting up to speed with software such as Fusion 360 and iForge training for manufacturing practice. 

The international competition teams have delivered significant results as well. The IMechE team started the year with multiple design iterations of their transitional VTOL fixed wing. When moving onto manufacturing, some aspects of the project required skills that were new to some members, however, the team was able to adapt and successfully deliver a working prototype that was able to do a full transition during our latest flight day. This shows the team dynamics that ADL fosters, encouraging members to learn from more competent members as we push to pass on knowledge through the senior members of ADL. This ensures that no knowledge is lost through future academic years.

The SUAS team made considerable progress despite losing access to the Composites Room as it was being refurbished. The team started the year by designing a fixed-wing aircraft from scratch, which as then manufactured using waterjet-cut carbon fibre, lasercut plywood and many 3D-printed materials. The aim was to compete in the international SUAS competition hosted in the United States, but we were unfortunately set back by two major back-to-back crashes just before a major deliverable deadline. 

Our in-house ground control software team, FGCS (https://fgcs.avisdronelabs.uk ), started the year by releasing version 0.1.7 Currently they are on version 0.1.9, which includes a camera pop-out functionality, better error handling, and a new missions page for better readability. Our competition teams now use FGCS for their own GCS, showing the reliability of the software.

Finally, the funding we have received has gone towards everything that has supported us, from tooling to materials, from operations to flight day costs. Without this funding, we would not be able to have any of the projects mentioned above at their current capabilities. Members have been upskilled to support future projects and iterations of ADL, showing continuous growth and increasing our maturity level in skills. More about the individual projects can be read on our website at https://avisdronelabs.uk.

MarsWorks

We have obtained a number of sponsors who are helping provide Project MarsWorks with both physical parts and expert advice. We are proud to announce that we are the only team from the UK who have made it tinto the Anatolian Rover challenge, which will take place this July! We would like to thank the following sponsors who have helped us get this far: 

3DXR

The Electronics Team is using the flight controller for software testing and backup, the balance charger for safe battery operation, and the two battery bags for safe storage and transport. 

The Robotics Team has integrated the two roll-wrapped carbon fibre tubes into the robot arm, where their strength and low weight make them ideal for connecting joints. 

The Mini Rover Team is using the 11.1V batter and TX60 adapters to safely power the rover and Raspberry Pi, allowing easy batter swaps and safer connections.

Pimoroni

The Mini Rover Team has integrated the Raspberry Pi Pico 2 with the Kitronik Robotics Board to control multiple motors and servos - beyond what an Aruino Uno could handle. The Raspberry Pi5, microSD cards, and USB-C power supplies are powering high-performance video streaming and onboard processing.

The Science Team is using the Adafruit SCD-40 and BMP390 sensors to collect precise environmental and atmospheric data, while the Sonoff R2 Waterproof Enclosure keeps soil samples safe during transport and analysis.

In the Robotics and Software Teams, the Raspberry Pi 4 helps test robot arm control and system integration. The Pico GFX Pack and Pico W are used to display real-time arm status, aided by the LED noodle which provides visible feedback to observers during demos. 

Alrad

Alrad have provided our team with priceless advice, in addition to the loan of the NVIDIA Development Kit. This allows our team to test autonomous navigation and motion of the rover.

SMB Bearings

SMB Bearings have generously donated over £500 worth of bearings to the project, which have been successfully integrated into the gearbox's rotary components, ensuring smooth motion and preventing friction between the 3D printed parts. 

ACCU

The nuts and bolts ACCU provided were instrumental in the mechanical assembly of the rover, with many of them playing a crucial role in securing the robot arm's end-effector. 

O Drive

The motor and drivers O Drive provided are being used to move the robot arm, helping it work smoothly and accurately at the end-effector.

GMV

GMV has kindly hosted multiple online question and answer sessions, giving out sub-teams expert advice on niche areas regarding the rover.

RS Fund

As recipients of the RS fund, Project MarsWorks has decided to use the £500 prize for several aspects of the project, including subsidising team polo shirts for our members as well as purchasing key mechanical and electrical components.

EWB: Wind Turbine

In 2025/25, the Wind Turbine sub-team of Engineers Without Borders expanded from 3 teams of 4, to 5 teams of 5 to 10, now totalling 30 students and allowing more people to work in parallel.

Blades Team

The Blades team succeeded in finishing all three blades to a high standard and completed bending moment - load tests consistent with BS EN 61400-1 for 50 year storm survival. Subsequent load tests are being carried out to comply with the whole small wind turbine standard. The next step for the Blades team is completion of the mounting mechanism and integration with the rotor hub.

Whirlow Farm - Possible Wind Turbine Location

Having regained contact with Whirlow farm, a team visit was organised. Possible locations and electrical loads were investigated as well as a review of the existing solar array and inverter. This gave the Electrical team a specific goal to work towards and kick-started our need for a Law team to assist with planning permission.

Law Team

Now that a physical location had been agreed in principle, the newly formed law team carried out research, meeting with University of Sheffield lecturers and inquiring with local solicitors. The team now also includes an Urban Planning student with directly applicable knowledge. Based on current estimates, the whole planning application process may cost in the range of £2-3k. Next year, we will be attempting to interest sponsors in our project in aid of covering this expense. 

Power Transmission Team

This team was focussed on designing an efficient system to take the alternating three phase generator output and condition it to be suitable for batter charging. We are working on designing a system compliant with BS 6761 and other applicable standards. Having met with Dr Jack Forrester, the ambition of the design has increased, with the plan now being to implement an intelligent rectifier and DC-DC converter to enable the use of wind turbine maximum power point tracking. Deep-discharge lead acid batteries will be used, sized to provide power for the barn lights, with a stretch goal of the water heaters.

Power Production

This year the power production team had to remanufacture teh stator due to a fault with the part constructed previously. All nine coils were rewound. Coils were star connected in three phases, then the whole assembly was cast in a heat dissipating resin for rigidity and long term durability. This part is now almost ready for integration with the rotor and the blades. 

Mechanical Design Team

This team focused on digitising each aspect of the design to create engineering drawings that can be used to fabricate components for the tower and yaw bearing. They also carried out an FEA simulation to verify the strength of parts that have been modified from the original design.

Outreach

EWB took part in the Get Up to Speed (GUTS) with STEM event at the Magna Science Centre in March 2025. Parts of the wind turbine were showcased to inspire future engineers and the community to get involved in sustainable engineering.

In Summary

The project is in the process of transition from a more amateur DIY project to one backed up by engineering standards, with designs robust to scrutiny from planning permission. The blades and the generator have made the most progress with the designs for the electrical power system and the tower undergoing significant improvements and changes. We are excited for what the next year holds and are confident that by that time, a working wind turbine will have been constructed and we will be in a position to plan for site installation.