Badgerfly

Badgerfly is a competition robotics team focused on hands-on drone engineering and the design and construction of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles. For the 2025–2026 season, the team plans to develop a drone designed to support wildfire response. Its featured Design-Build-Vertical competition challenges participants to create an eVTOL aircraft capable of completing a standardized mission course, emphasizing speed, precision, and payload handling.

Badgerfly brings together students across software, mechanical, and electrical disciplines. The software team works with ArduPilot and Pixhawk, C++ and Python programming, autonomous navigation, simulation, and debugging. The mechanical team focuses on CAD, aerodynamics, structural design, propulsion, materials, thermal management, prototyping, and testing. The electrical team develops skills in circuit design, PCB layout, power distribution, sensor integration, battery management, and electrical testing.

Based in the Mechanical Engineering department at 1513 University Avenue in Madison, Wisconsin, Badgerfly provides a collaborative setting for learning and applying engineering skills through competition projects. The team can be contacted at [email protected].