(March 13, 2022) --
Discovery Hall Programs and UMS-Wright Preparatory School co-hosted the second Alabama SeaPerch ROV Regional Competition on Saturday, March at UMS-Wright. The first competition was held in 2020 shortly before COVID-19 created shutdowns of schools and events.
Thirteen teams representing schools from Alabama and Mississippi competed. The Mississippi schools represented were Grenada High School and Vancleave Middle School. Alabama schools represented included Baker High School, Robertsdale High School, and Barton Academy for Advanced Global World Studies. In addition, the Bernard Malkove Branch and the Sonny Callahan Branch of the Boys and Girls Clubs of South Alabama were also represented.
Middle School and High School team placements were:
Middle School:
- 1st: Barton Explorers II, Sea-3P0 (Barton Academy for Advanced Global World Studies)
- 2nd: Tiamet (Vancleave Middle School)
- 3rd: Talos (Vancleave Middle School)
High School:
- 1st: Robertsdale HS Navy JROTC (Robertsdale High School)
- 2nd: Grenada Tridents (Grenada High School NJROTC)
- 3rd: Titanic (UMS Wright Preparatory)
Each team designed and built their own SeaPerch underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV) for the competition. The teams participated in a timed obstacle course, where they maneuvered their ROV through a series of hoops, and a mission course relating to space exploration. Their ROV had to transport tools and open a panel to access batteries, disconnect, and replace them.
In advance of the missions, the teams submitted a technical design report to the judges. This technical report addressed the engineering design process of their ROV focussing on how their robot changed during the building and testing phases and also describing the unique features of their robot to complete the obstacle and mission courses.
The overall competition champion Robertsdale High School Navy JROTC qualified for the International SeaPerch Challenge to be held in Maryland on June 4 and 5, 2022. Learn more about Discovery Hall Programs ROV and marine technology classes, camps, and workshops at disl.edu/dhp/rov-programs.