13 Years Under The Sea
Special Thanks to
Daryl Davidson
Robosub Competition. Another rookie
team came all the way from Iceland.
The University of Reykjavik had been
doing well with their qualifying runs by
the time we talked to them, but they
were sorting out leaks in preparation for
the next rounds. The Reykjavik team
said one of their biggest challenges has
been dealing with lighting conditions,
because apparently things in San Diego
look a bit brighter than back in cloudy
Iceland.
The Kyushu Institute of Technology
in Japan also sponsored a team. The
veteran Kyushu team redesigned their
sub to be smaller this year, and the
team is known for always turning in
excellent technical reports.
KAIST Bio Information Systems Lab from South Korea
sponsored a team that produced a truly stylish AUV that
looked like a turtle. To prove that you can maintain a great
sense of humor even when dealing with mind-boggling
programming challenges, KAIST designed their required
AUV kill switch to be activated by pulling off the turtle’s
head.
Two teams hailed from Canada. The Autonomous
Robotic Vehicle Project — based at the University of Alberta
— felt the weight of the entire pacific northwest of North
America on their shoulders. Their compact sub — the
Bearacuda — seemed to handle the pressure nicely with
solid mechanical systems.
Team SONIA from École de Technologie Supérieure in
Quebec has participated since 1999. They used the same
hull as last year but with new electronics. In addition to
solid AUVs, ETS had one of the best team websites, and
they promised to upload video logs from their runs to give
visitors a robot’s eye view of the competition.
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT. CORNELL MAKES IT A REPEAT!
A Tip of the Top Hat
By the finals, seven teams were left to compete for top
honors: AVHS, Kyushu, the US Naval Academy, Maryland,
ETS, UTD, and Cornell. Robosub prides itself as a great
spectator sport which may seem a little counterintuitive. It’s
a bit difficult to see the AUVs from the surface as they
compete, but to remedy that organizers put on an
absolutely fantastic webcast. During the finals, a panel
including Daryl Davidson, Dr. Zoz Brooks from the Discovery
Channel’s Prototype This!, and a student representative
from the competing team answered questions and gave
color commentary. Cameras handled by divers and ROVs
captured the action, and before runs there were team intro
videos shot by sponsors and webcast organizers, 5:00 Films.
The final runs were a nail-biting affair with many teams
having difficulty with some devilishly rearranged buoys.
Teams like the US Naval Academy that were happy with
their first run used the remainder of their 15 minutes to do
a survey run — basically, a test run that would be used to
collect data to improve the design for next year. The focus
on the future was inspiring, and we are sure that it will
keep the competition growing for years to come.
Cornell was the last team to go because they had the
highest score going into the finals. Tachyon sailed through
the hedges, followed the path, dropped markers, and shot
torpedoes in what appeared to be a flawless run. Near the
end, however, the AUV appeared struck with indecision as
it hovered near the police station instead of surfacing with
the counselor. Tachyon never ended up surfacing, making
for a cliffhanger ending that could see a shakeup in the
standings.
Awards were given out that evening. In addition to
recognizing the highest scores, the University of Reykjavik
received the Determination award, San Diego City Robotics
was recognized for their outstanding group presentation,
and the University of Central Florida received the highest
scoring run for a team not in the finals. In the end, the top
ranking were: Kyushu, 7th; UTD 6th; AVHS 5th; ETS 4th;
Maryland 3rd; Naval Academy 2nd; and Cornell 1st —
making it a repeat!
We would like to extend congratulations to all of the
participants for turning in stellar performances in a very
difficult competition. We’re confident next year will see all
of the same teams, some newcomers, and an even more
challenging set of tasks. SV
Recommended Websites
www.robosub.org
SERVO 09.2010 73
