The fifth time since 2004 the German Institute of Navigation (DGON) together with the “Technische Universität Braunschweig” has organized the “International Micro Air Vehicle Conference and Flight Competition IMAV 2012” in the “Lion City” Braunschweig from 03 to 06 July 2012.
The scientific head of the conference was the chairman of the DGON Council, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Peter Vörsmann.

The 5-day event was implemented in the Volkswagenhalle Braunschweig and on the glider field Wilsche.

Traditionally, the event consist of a theoretical and a practical phase.

During the practical phase 15 international teams were fulfilling “indoor” and “outdoor” competitions in the categories “autonomy” and “dynamics” with self developed MAV. The numerous tasks were partly very ambitious. The “outdoor” part at Wilsche was performed under optimal weather conditions: very sunny, warm and almost no wind.
The indoor part took place in the arena of the Volkswagenhalle Braunschweig.

The amount of the submitted papers for the academic part of the event was extraordinary high, that only some of the excellent contributions could be orally presented in the given time.

The theoretical conference sessions were:

• Guidance, Navigation and Control
• Sensors
• Fuselage and Propulsion Systems
• Aerodynamics
• MAV Operations
• System Engineering

The high interest in the event was documented by the large number of participants: 140 out of 18 nations of all continents.

Besides private discussions during the breaks, there were ample opportunities for exchange of ideas during the reception of the mayor of Braunschweig, Mrs. Cornelia Rohse-Paul, at the Altstadtrathaus and during the traditional Symposium-Dinner. The dinner speaker, Mr. Sven Bollmann, delivered an enthusiastic lecture on the analog production of 3D-city maps: “Street View made 1948 at Braunschweig”.

Co-operation partners of the event were the “Deutsche Aero Club” and the “Deutsche Gesellschaft für Luft- und Raumfahrt – Lilienthal – Oberth”. Additionally IMAV 2012 was generously supported by the “US Army International Technology Center”, the “European Office of Aerospace Research and Development” and the “Office of Naval Research”.