DroneCup

Motivation

Drones are an exciting technology, but they remain largely inaccessible to young people. In schools especially, hands-on and engaging access to drone technology—and its potential for teaching computing and digital skills—is still rare. At the same time, human-drone interaction is a growing research field. The project bridges these two perspectives.

Goals and Approach

DroneCup pursues two core goals: First, it builds an accessible platform that enables secondary school students to creatively and confidently engage with drone technology. Through workshops, OpenDroneLabs, and a public competition, students are empowered to develop both technical and collaborative skills. Second, the DrohnenCup serves as a scientific platform to explore human-drone interaction, particularly in cooperative task settings. Together with schools, educators, and partners, the project develops, tests, and refines educational formats and novel interaction concepts.

Innovations and Perspectives

We uniquely combine STEM education, participatory technology design, and applied research. Children and young people become co-creators of interactive systems while researchers develop and evaluate new forms of human-drone cooperation. In the long term, the DrohnenCup is envisioned as a recurring event—anchored both regionally and beyond—as an educational offering, a research platform, and a showcase for hands-on, inspiring tech engagement.