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Students across the northern Gulf Coast are gearing up their remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) for the 6th annual ROV competition to be held May 4 through the 6 at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab. Last year, 23 middle and high school teams competed in three different class levels with over 160 students participating.
For the 2018 competition, students will need to design and test a ROV that can accomplish several tasks related to this year’s theme, "Jet City: Aircraft, Earthquakes and Energy". These real-world tasks will include locating the wreckage of an airplane and bringing its engine to the surface, installing a seismometer and tidal turbine, and monitoring and restoring seagrass habitat. While at DISL, teams will share a marketing display about their ROV and give a presentation on the design and operation of their ROV to their peers and a panel of judges comprised of local engineers and technology experts.
The competition at DISL, hosted by Discovery Hall Programs, is part of the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) international competition network and is one of 30 regional events. Teams competing at the RANGER competition class are eligible to attend the international competition, which will be held in Federal Way, Washington on June 21-23, 2018.
Discovery Hall Programs (DHP) recently received a STEM award from Ingalls Shipbuilding to support its underwater robotics programs. Funds will be used to support DHP’s class for K-12 students on ROVs as well as items that can be used in all of their ROV programs which currently include a teacher workshop, a technology-focused summer camp, the hands-on class, and the competition mentioned above. For more information on any of these programs, please visit our ROV Programs website.
For more information on the MATE network and the northern Gulf Coast regional ROV competition, please visit our page on the competition site. If you would still like to register a team, please contact us at rovcompetiton@disl.org. Registration will be open until April 6, 2018.