International Micro Air Vehicle Conference and Competition
20–24 September 2027University of São Paulo, São Carlos, Brazil
One week of research papers and real flights
IMAV is the international meeting of the micro air vehicle community. Research groups present peer-reviewed work in the morning and fly autonomous drones against each other in the afternoon.
In 2027 the event comes to Brazil, hosted by the São Carlos School of Engineering at the University of São Paulo, home to the country's aeronautical engineering and mechatronics programmes.
- edition
- 19thedition
- expected attendees
- 400+expected attendees
- countries
- 30+countries
- flight competitions
- 2flight competitions
Conference
Oral and poster sessions on autonomy, aerodynamics, perception, swarms and control. Accepted papers are published in the IMAV proceedings.
Research tracks
- Autonomy, guidance and SLAM
- Aerodynamics and novel airframes
- Perception and onboard computing
- Swarms and multi-vehicle systems
- Control and disturbance rejection
- Safety, airspace and applications
Competitions
Two autonomous flight challenges, one indoors without GPS and one outdoors over long range.
Indoor autonomous challenge
USP Sports Complex, São Carlos
GPS-denied flight through a simulated collapsed building. Drones pass narrow openings, avoid moving obstacles and find survivor markers with no pilot input.
- Navigation
- Onboard only, no GPS
- Weight limit
- Under 500 g
- Flight slot
- 15 minutes
- Autonomy bonus
- Score × 2.5
Key dates
Registration and feesCall for papers and rulebook v1.0
Paper submissions open and the first competition rulebook is published.
EveryoneOpen now
Full paper deadline
Last day to submit 6–8 page research papers.
ConferenceUpcoming
Team registration and technical report
Teams confirm their entry and send the preliminary technical report.
CompetitionUpcoming
Paper acceptance notification
Authors receive reviews and revision instructions.
ConferenceUpcoming
Camera-ready papers and early registration
Final versions of accepted papers are due. Early registration rates end.
EveryoneUpcoming
IMAV 2027
Conference sessions, keynotes and both flight competitions at USP São Carlos.
EveryoneUpcoming
Keynote speakers
All keynotes and abstractsPlenary
Prof. Marco Pavone
Stanford University and NVIDIA
Autonomous aerial navigation under deep uncertainty: from Mars to Earth
Plenary
Prof. Guido de Croon
Delft University of Technology
Bio-inspired autonomy: tiny drones navigating like insects
Opening keynote
Dr. Caio Fonseca
São Carlos School of Engineering (EESC-USP)
Building resilient UAV systems for tropical biomes
São Carlos, a university town built around engineering
São Carlos sits 230 km north-west of São Paulo and has one of the highest concentrations of PhD researchers in Brazil. The conference, the indoor arena and the outdoor flight field are all within a short drive of each other.
EESC-USP Convention Center
Conference sessions, keynotes and welcome reception
USP Sports Complex
Indoor autonomous challenge
São Carlos airfield
Outdoor mission challenge and flight demonstrations
Organized and supported by
- USP
- EESC-USP
- ICMC-USP
- FAPESP
- CNPq
- IMAV
Questions
Something else? Write to the secretariat at imav2027@eesc.usp.br
Can a team enter both the indoor and outdoor challenges?
Yes. You can use the same vehicle or a different one for each. The schedule and pit spaces are planned so teams can take part in both.
Will the papers be indexed?
Accepted papers are published in the open-access IMAV 2027 proceedings and submitted for indexing, as in previous editions.
Are there travel grants for students?
A limited number of student travel grants will be awarded based on scientific merit. Details will be sent with the paper acceptance notifications.
Which radio frequencies can we use in Brazil?
Brazil's regulator, ANATEL, allows the 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz ISM bands. Power limits and full radio rules are in the rulebook.