Twin Tweaks ...
in the horizontal plane.
One team that stood out for their high aspirations
was Pacific Nautilus. Pacific Nautilus is actually a
student run non-profit group made up of community
college students. Now in their fourth year of
competition, Pacific Nautilus hopes to use the brain of
their AUV for both the underwater and ground
competitions next year. Eventually, they hope to use
the same unit for the aerial competition, as well.
The team from Amador Valley High School was
the only high school team in the competition. AVHS is
a fierce competitor, having competed since 2000 and
taking second place in 2001. The team has perfected
the process of recruiting and retaining members, and
had one of the largest teams at the competition.
Without tons of resources, AVHS focuses on improving
their sub from year to year. Having stabilized their
electronics, this year they were testing out a new Linux
based Beagle Board.
Joining the Sea Hunt
VETERAN COMPETITORS LIKE THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS,DALLAS (TOP) AND
THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA (BOTTOM) STRIVE TO BUILD ON PAST SUCCESS.
designed the sub from the top down — starting with the
hull design and then working to fit everything inside.
Perhaps their artistic flair is what pushed the team to get
creative with propulsion. In addition to three traditional
vertical thrusters, the Stingray is outfitted with two Voith-Schneider propellers that allow for any possible movement
The 2010 Competition also welcomed a group of
newcomers unfazed by the extreme difficulty of the
technical challenge. First and second time competitors
came from as far away as Montreal from McGill
CORNELL’S AUV TACHYON MAKES A PRACTICE RUN.
One Ocean Y’all
Putting the
“International” in AUVSI,
several teams made long treks
from all over the world to
participate in the 13th Annual
72 SERVO 09.2010
