Rhyme of the Modern Submariner Concluded
judges would look down upon our
team for suffering a dearth of creativity
for using the ROV-in-a-box kit — the
competition guidelines even specifically
discouraged the use of packaged
systems. We were very pleased when
the judges did not, in fact, disparage
our ROV for coming from a kit, and
instead they even went so far as to
commend the ROV-in-a-box kit as an
admirable way to get more people
involved with underwater robotics.
This was certainly the truth, because
if it wasn’t for the kit from !nventivity
we wouldn’t have been looking for an
ROV competition in the first place.
The judges wanted to know details
about the build and the reasoning
behind our design decisions, and so
we did our best to communicate the
process of brainstorming, compromises,
and teamwork that went into the
construction of the little ROV.
Voyage to the
Bottom of the Pool
Our Engineering Evaluation
concluded the first day of competition.
Each team was given two chances to
complete the competition missions,
and the best score of the two runs
would be counted as the team’s
score. Both of our chances were on
Saturday, and we were confident that
we could rise to the challenge.
Our first run was a moderate
success. First and foremost, the ROV
was functional. The camera worked,
we were able to read temperatures,
and we were able to move around the
pool. Our first objective was to take
the temperature reading. Taking the
temperature reading took some
careful positioning, put after finessing
the joysticks we were able to hover
over the spout long enough to yield a
reading. We then turned our attention
to the sunken OBS, but before we
could shove around the dive weights
we found that some irresponsible
maneuvering had left one of our
props entangled in the tether. Despite
the setback, we still earned 20 out of
a possible 200 points. Our points
were awarded for the temperature
measurement — it was not the correct
measurement, but it was different
than the ambient pool temperature
and we were able to hold our probe
in the flow. We were happy for
scoring points, and we were confident
that we could improve our score in
the next round.
Our second run wasn’t until later
in the afternoon, so we had ample
time to make some improvements and
check out what else was going on in the
competition. We bound up the tether
with a few more zip ties to prevent
future tangles, and we recalibrated the
temperature sensor. Other than that,
we were good to go, so we had time
to appreciate the other things that the
MATE Competition had to offer.
One of the most exciting parts of
a robotics competition is a chance to
see what other teams have come up
with, and we were very impressed by
the diversity of designs. Eastern Edge
Robotics from Newfoundland, Canada
boasted a sleek robot with a stylish
fiberglass hull. The team from the
California Academy of Math and
Science (CAMS) sported a quirky
Viking theme, and their robot was
encased in a clear shell that allowed
observers to appreciate the electronics
and the team to keep a close eye on
the inner workings of their creation.
The Jesuit High School team–winners
of the Explorer class last year–had a
formidable large red ROV that looked
capable of rescuing people from the
pool in addition to a trapped OBS.
The roboticists from Long Beach City
College brought a control station on
wheels complete with monitors and
video game controllers. We saw
pneumatic claws, hulls fashioned from
ammunition boxes, big ROVs, small
FROM THE VIEWING TENT.
ROVs, and everything in between. It
was truly an inspiring group of robots.
But since their competition arena was
underwater, it was difficult to see
them in action. But the MATE folks
had thought of everything, and there
was a viewing tent that showed the
view from an underwater camera.
Our second competitive run came
in the afternoon, and after our slight
modifications we were ready to go.
Our goal was to ace the temperature
measurement, and then try to surface
the OBS and gather the dive weights.
We discovered that our first temperature measurement was hindered not
by an uncalibrated sensor, but rather
by the fact that is simply took time to
equilibrate. With that in mind, we
held the probe in the flow as long as
possible, and we were able to get a
reading that we were comfortable
with. We then moved on to the OBS,
and we swept as many dive weights
off of the base as we could. This was
a difficult task, however, and our time
was up before we could dislodge all
of them. At the end of the time, the
judges informed us that we had aced
the temperature measurement, and
we were awarded 80 points. The entire
team was thrilled and we considered
our mission to be accomplished.
The third day of competition was
comprised of the last few competition
runs by the remaining teams and the
awards banquet. After having what we
thought were two hugely successful
runs, we thought that the wonderful
experience we had was enough of a
reward. But at the awards banquet,
the UCSD team was recognized with
the Team Spirit award, and team
captain Evan was recognized with an
CONGRATULATIONS TAU BETA PI, CA PSI!
(FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: MADELINE,
BRANDON, EVAN, AND BRYCE.)
SERVO 09.2008 17
