Twenty-one teams of high school students flew their underwater remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) in the deepwater tank at COSI in Columbus, OH on December 2, 2015. This event was the kick off to an exciting new venture for the ROV Design Challenge.
In May of 2016, PAST and COSI will be hosting the first Buckeye Regional Competition for MATE (Marine Advanced Technology Education). Winners of the May competition will qualify to compete at the International competition in June 2016 in Houston, Texas.
At the beginning of this school year students were presented with multiple criteria for this challenge, including:
Design, build, test and modify the ROV.
Develop and present technical documentation of their work.
Design a scientific poster supporting their work.
“Fly” their ROV through the tank course.
New to this year’s event, members of the OSU ROV team presented four workshops for students. This year’s topics were:
Buoyancy
ROV Construction and Design
Technical Documentation
Career Opportunity/Real-World Application
Additionally, the Gahanna Lincoln High School ROV team gave an in-tank demonstration to the students. Gahanna Lincoln has competed in MATE Regionals and their insight was highly valuable to these teams as they prepare for the May 2016 challenge.
Judges evaluated all aspects of the challenge, and points given based on completion, accuracy and quality. The challenge was daunting but these student teams rose to the occasion! The challenge was exciting and a great learning experience for all the teams. More photos here.
Congratulations to Team ROVs Are Friends (ROVAF) for their 1st Place Finish, with 215.5 point out of a possible 220. In 2nd Place, Team 43 with 203.2 and in 3rd Place, Team Mid-Ocian Ridge Explore with 197.5 points. These teams and nine others represented Metro Early High School. Students from Reynoldsburg, OH eSTEM Academy also participated in the challenge and workshops.