TWENTY-TWO teams from universities around China tested their artificial intelligence technologies on drones in a competition at Shanghai Jiao Tong University over the weekend.

The drone competition is not about how far or fast the machines can fly, but how smart they are.

During the test, the drones have to complete a series of tasks including following a person on the move and searching objects in an isolated area.

“The competition is more about preparing talent for the field’s future development, to bring talent to focus on the field,” said Zou Danping, a judge of the competition.

“There is not a shortage of talent in artificial intelligence or drones or alogrithms, but there are not many who command all the skills at the same time.” Zou added the competition’s tasks settings such as searching is a key application for drones, particularly in rescue actions, where signals are often weak. Drones have to quickly work out how to locate the target.

Zhu Yafu, a member of the team from Shanghai BeiDou Research Institute, said BeiDou took part in the competition to have more contacts with university teams to exchange ideas and learn the latest development in colleges.