The MAAXX Europe 2018 drone racing competition returns to the region on 23 and 24 March with triple the flying area at the Exhibition and Conference Centre at UWE Bristol.

Working with leading chip maker NVIDIA, phone and system maker Huawei and the Aerospace Bristol museum as part of their celebration of the RAF’s 100th anniversary, the flying area now has two large arenas to test out the latest drone technologies.

Check out what MAAXX Europe was like at last year’s event in the video below:

With 12 industry and university teams, the event aims to push the boundaries of control systems for autonomous aircraft. There’s an overnight build-a-drone event with significant support from Huawei and other companies along with teams from the leading UK and EU universities.

The industry day on Friday 23 March will also feature a research poster exhibition from some of the brightest post-graduates around.

MAAXX Europe’s co-organiser, High Tech Bristol and Bath (HBB), is also applying to the NESTA Flying High Challenge. This four-month consultation would provide the framework for a future bid for funding to examine the use of drones in urban situations.

“NESTA is looking for five cities in the UK to be the centre for all things drone,” says John Bradford, CEO of HBB. “We are looking at infrastructure monitoring, contested airspace around the port at Avonmouth and the airport as well as emergency and health response. Then there’s a crowd safety and management around large events such as the Harbour Festival,” he adds.

You can find out more about MAXX Europe and register for free tickets via the MAAXX Europe 2018 website. For updates on Bristol’s involvement in the Flying High challenge, you can follow HBB on Twitter here: @hbb_cic.