US University Innovation Award Winner

Mason Chin was serving in the California National Guard during the most recent catastrophic wildfires in the state – the Palisades fire in January and the Bridge fire in November of last year.  Responding to both, his unit deployed manned helicopters.  But Mason quickly realized that those choppers were limited in their ability to fully respond to the widespread destruction the wildfires had wrought.

“Having a different type of aircraft out there to help with natural disasters, to be able to detect and evaluate people with injuries and in need of treatment is very important,” says the California State Polytechnic University-Pomona undergraduate.  “It’s the same with the massive floods in the Bay Area in 2023.  Roads were closed and lots of people had no access to food.  They were quickly running out of necessities.  If we had unmanned vehicles that could airdrop food to people in the hardest-to-reach areas, we could have done so.”

Until recently, the vehicles that Mason describes were the stuff of “reel” life, science fiction films and TV shows. These are unmanned autonomous flyers with sensors to identify and, if necessary, evacuate people in need of immediate assistance due to extreme weather incidents and other man-made and natural disasters and medical emergencies. They have the ability to carry several hundred pounds of emergency food, water, and medical supplies and/or trained medical personnel, and they don’t face the flight limitations of helicopters, drones, or air ambulances.

Now, however, the development of such aircraft is quickly approaching in “real” life.  And Mason and a group of nine other Cal Poly-Pomona undergraduates are at the forefront of this development.  Indeed, they are members of Team Pegasus participating in GoAERO, the global challenge to create an entirely new class of emergency response flyers that will be more effective, more efficient, and more financially accessible than helicopters, drones, and ambulances during disasters and medical emergencies. 

Team Pegasus is on the right track—or, more appropriately, flight path—with its vehicle. It is one of 14 awardees receiving funds from GoAERO with support from NASA’s University Innovation project. The team will use the funds to develop its prototype vehicle.

Its flyer, Pegasus, is a lifesaving focused, compact, autonomy-enabled rescue eVTOL (electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing) low-cost aircraft that is safe and simple to fly, according to team captain and advisor Mark Gonda, adjunct professor for air vehicle design. “It is designed to be as simple as possible so it can be deployed quickly and complete its straightforward mission to rescue people. Plus, we are keeping the cost low and making it easy to maintain and operate so it is accessible to all First Responders."

Mark explained that first responders responded positively, noting that the team had discussions with California Fire Departments and FEMA personnel to craft dedicated flyer designs for effective solutions with their input. 

“We won the NASA Blue Sky competition for emergency rescue last year,” he relates.  “In that process, we spoke with FEMA in order to design an aircraft that fits into the current architecture they use to respond to emergencies. Now, we’re building on that for GoAERO.” 

And their Pegasus flyer won’t just be for FEMA, team member Conner Mustar points out.  He recounts that as a Boy Scout for seven years, there was always a lot of hiking and backpacking in the woods. “Sometimes you might be alone.  You could get injured, and it would be difficult to get to someone in that terrain.  I remember during summer camp one year, there was an accident where someone slipped off a waterfall. A helicopter had to come and rescue him to safety.  That would not have been possible if there wasn’t an open space for the helicopter to land.  So, with GoAERO, we are focused on designing a tool for the Forest Service to complement its helicopters and drones.”

As with Mark, Conner adds that having an autonomy-enabled flyer will reduce the cost and barriers to entry.  

“Getting an aircraft out there to help with natural disasters and evaluate someone with injuries and in need of treatment is really important – and really cool,” he declares.

It’s also “a great innovation and safety challenge for the team,” says member Manuel Koukourian, noting that Pegasus will be equipped with cameras, GPS systems, sensors to determine exact air conditions and other safety concerns, and more.  There will be eight propellors, just in case one or two go out. “Every single component will be assessed for safety before it goes on our flyer. We’re going to need to do a lot of flights to demonstrate safety and other factors before we even think of rescuing and carrying people on our flyer.”

For Manuel, Pegasus is the realization of a lifelong dream. “Aviation has always meant everything to me, ever since I was a child.  I even got my pilot’s license as soon as I was eligible.”

Other team members are Rudy Barragan, Ian Chu, Nick D'ambrosio, Vahagan Hayrapetyan, Daniel Klein, David Tu, Jose Vasquez Rosales.  All are undergraduates in CPP’s Aerospace Engineering Department, where they are enrolled in the air vehicle design course.   Participation in GoAERO is part of the students’ senior project to design and create an actual flying vehicle. 

Naysayers may consider the team members’ ages and lack of years of experience to be a hindrance to their success in GoAERO.  But every team member sees their relative youth as a positive differentiator.  

“It’s not a disadvantage to be a student in the GoAERO competition,” Mason asserts. “eVTOL technology is new, so everyone is learning from scratch and on the same page.” 

Adds Conner: “We’re taking everything directly from the classroom and applying it to real-world problems.  So, it is very current to us.”

And, Manuel says, Team Pegasus is driven by “a singular mission – to save people.   Anyone in the world can understand that.  Our unique solution will make us stand out among all others.”

 

To highlight your GoAERO Team, contact us at info@goaeroprize.com. 

 

REMINDER: Stage 2 Registration Documents are available here.

Benefits for Teams can be found here.