MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM
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MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM |
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3rd Annual Remotely Operated Vehicle Contest
Monterey Peninsula College
April 12, 2003
Contest Eligibility:
Competition was open to students in grades 6 through 12.
Contest was limited to first 50 complete registration packets.
All entrants required to be affiliated with a school, home schooling network, or other educational organization.
Competition Categories:
Design and Innovation. Engineers, ROV pilots, and technicians from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) evaluated teams on design creativity and innovative use of materials.
Conservation Challenge. Teams piloted their ROVs through a PVC obstacle course to locate and recover "toxic barrels" (PVC tees). This was a 12 minute timed event.
Free The Float. Teams piloted their ROVs to the bottom of the pool to find and release two "trapped flotation markers" (balloons tethered to a brass ring looped around a rod). This was a 12 minute timed event.
Team Display. Teams earned Extra Bonus Points for creating displays providing information about their team, and in keeping with the contest's theme, includes a conservation message. Team displays included posters, dioramas, and computer presentations.
ROV Specifications:
ROVs and control boxes were built by the students.
ROVs were built out of materials of student's choice, usually PVC pipe. Propellers were plastic or wood, and shrouded to prevent pool damage. No residue was permitted to be left in the pool.
Maximum size: 16 inches long x 16 inches wide x 14 inches high.
Power was provided by 12-Volt "car" batteries.
Cameras and monitors were permitted, but were required to be powered by the team's separate battery.
NO AC POWER WAS PERMITTED.
Radio transmitters (powered by the team's separate battery) were permitted.
ROV motors were waterproofed; the pool is highly chlorinated.
Contest Specifications:
ROVs had to be able to maneuver in 3 dimensions, and in a pool up to 12 feet deep. Seven-meter tethers were recommended.
During the contest, up to three operators were permitted; however, there was no limit to the number of students involved in design and construction.
A repair table with soldering irons and other power tools was provided.
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