You might not automatically associate remote-operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) with the Midwest, but a maximum-capacity field of students from the Great Lakes states of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin took part in the first Shedd Aquarium Midwest MATE ROV regional competition on Saturday, May 2, at the Illinois Institute of Technology. The event is coordinated by the Marine Advanced Technology Education Center.
Students ranging from 6th graders to undergraduates in college demonstrated their ingenuity as well as their mastery of engineering as they completed an underwater obstacle course on their submarine rescue mission. Operated with everything from coat hangers to underwater cameras, the ROVs ranged from basic to high-tech. The students worked in teams to learn the ins and outs of robotic design and hydrodynamics to complete their missions.
The first-place award went to the 6th- to 8th-graders from the Boys and Girls Clubs of St. Joe County, Indiana. They now have the opportunity to compete at the International ROV Competition in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, at the end of June.
Interested in learning how to make an ROV? Join us at Shedd’s Underwater Robotics Teacher Institute this August!
Posted by Joy Kubarek-Sandor, education
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