A group of former Auckland University students has won $NZ50,000 ($A45,500) in a competition aimed at developing world-leading drone technology for the film, media, and gaming industries.
The competition is endorsed by movie mogul James Cameron.
The four-member VorTech team was one of six finalists in the C-prize competition, which attracted 80 entries.
The competition involved designing a prototype unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) which could overcome one of three obstacles that limit their use in the film and television industry: strong wind, rotor noise, and the need to track moving objects automatically.
VorTech's entry involving a cutting-edge propeller design inspired by work in developing wind turbines that allows it to thrust in any direction including upside down and hold its position in strong winds.
It has gained the attention of American film studio DreamWorks, who had representatives at the awards ceremony on Tuesday night in Auckland, said competition organiser Callaghan Innovation.
Three of the VorTech team - Ben McLaren, Nishaad Salvapantula and Ryan Kurte - are employed in the tech sector in Auckland while the fourth member, Simon Corkery, is studying offshore.
Competition judge Linda Bulk, who is chief executive of Raglan-based UAV company Aeronavics, said the VorTech prototype still outshone the other competitors, being "out of the box and innovative and if it all works out, could have a real world application to it".
Bulk's company last year became one of only two drone systems to be granted US Federal Aviation Authority exemption to be used for film and television work in Hollywood, sparking demand for its product.
VorTech is doing further work to produce a working prototype which it expects to complete by the first quarter of next year when a number of parties in the film industry would be interested to see how it has developed, Bulk said.
The team also won an expenses-paid trip to exhibit their drone at the 2016 National Association of Broadcasters trade show in Law Vegas, the largest international trade show for media content and technology.
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