An unlikely team – Muhammad Musa, Hamza Adnan, Ibrahim Arif, Ibrahim bin Yasir, Irtaza Tanveer, Jowii Willianto, Maida Aizaz, Malik Moaz, all headed by captain Suleman Mahmood - with big dreams, Team Robusta boasts determination and tenacity, and is poised to participate in the International Fixed-Wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Competition, organized by TUBITAK and the Turkish government, to be held in Turkey in September 2021. The team members hail from multiple countries throughout Asia - South Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia - and specialise in various fields, encompassing everything from Chemistry to Computer Science.

“We were shortlisted from amongst a pool of countless participants from all over the world for the next stage, wherein we have to bring our conceptual design to life by building the whole UAV from scratch.”, said Mr. Suleman Mahmood.

During this past year, the team (consisting of students from LUMS as well as three members from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) got its creative juices flowing, researching every aspect of UAVs and RC planes the best they could, given the limited time and pressing deadlines. One of the greatest hurdles they faced was conducting Zoom meetings, given the different timezones they were all in, as well as coordinating everything remotely. 

While reflecting on the significance of the competition, Suleman said “In this high-profile global event, with undergraduate and graduate teams from every part of the world, we are proud to be representing our beloved country of Pakistan, and even more so, our honorable university, which is helping us shape our future and providing us with more opportunities than we can count to ensure that - this competition included. We want to make LUMS proud and help it stand out even more internationally, as Luminites part of a competition that is this far-reaching.”

“Thanks to LUMS and their generous support, both financial and moral, we were able to meet the requirements, and are currently flying towards our goal of building the UAV of our dreams.”, commented the team leader, Mr. Suleman Mahmood.

The students belong from the following cohorts of SBASSE LUMS:

• Suleman Mahmood – CS Major
• Muhammad Musa – CS Major
• Malik Muhammad Moaz – CS Major
• Hamza Adnan – EE Major
• Ibrahim Suhail Arif – EE Major
• Irtaza Tanveer – Physics Major