ROV SeaDragons Competed in Savannah

In the old days, people went down to the sea in ships. Today we go down to the sea floor in submarines and remotely operated vehicles (ROV's). The RoboDragons competed in their first underwater robotics (MATE ROV) event this past weekend and have plans for competing in first outer space "MoonBot" competition this summer. The underwater event takes place in a freshwater swimming pool. No the MoonBots tournament will not be held in space, but the first place team does win a free trip to Denmark. The top two teams from the underwater tournament this past weekend, won a trip to Hawaii where the international competition is to be held in June. Below is an account of the underwater event.


GSMST's RoboDragons travelled to beautiful and historic Savannah this weekend to compete in their first underwater robotics competition. The Marine Advanced Technology Education Center (MATE), NOAA, and the Gray's Reef national wildlife sanctuary sponsored the event to promote the study of our oceans and the technologies necessary to operate in this harsh environment. Exploring our oceans has much in common with exploring space. Both environments are hostile to human life. The most cost effective explorations of deep oceans and space take advantage of the tremendous advances currently being made in robotics.
GSMST's aqua-bot, the "SeaDragon" has been under construction for several months now. Twelve students including the team leader, Evan Davies worked diligently to gain the knowledge necessary to build the ROV. Several pool trials were needed to master control the aqua-bot in three dimensional water space. Of course, making sure all the electronics were sealed up and waterproof was a challenge in itself.

The tournament challenges related to the exploration of deep water hydro-thermal vents and collecting samples of the diverse biology found in these unique ecosystems. The remotely operated vehicle (ROV) SeaDragon was constructed of Aluminum and PVC pipe. Four motors are needed to control depth and direction and two underwater cameras provided video to the surface. Six servos were used to manipulate the two arms and claws needed to set up equipment and collect biological samples. As it ended up, our students learned a lot of valuable lessons about working in harsh environments.

The morning of the event was overcast and rainy. But the students were in high spirits and ignored the possible bad omen. We were scheduled to compete 5th, but the first team up wasn't ready and asked to trade places with us. We were ready and agreed to be the first team in the pool. The team setup all their control and video equipment and it was time to plug the SeaDragon into the 12V DC power provided and controlled by the event coordinators. As they were taught, the team plugged their red lead into to the positive terminal and the black lead into the negative terminal. Sparks flew and the SeaDragon would not respond to commands. As you all know, sparks are rarely a good thing with electronics. Something was badly wrong.

When they opened the waterproof electronics compartment, black acrid smoke rolled out gaging those nearby. It looked like it was going to be a very short and expensive tournament for us. We started exploring what went wrong and found that the tournament organizers had reversed the polarity on their provided power supply. Our team did exactly what they we supposed to do. Connect black to black and red to red. Of course the officials were apologetic about their mistake, but the damage was done. We were dead inthe water.
The students weren't ready to give up that easily. We returned to the pits and started investigating what had been 'fried' and what repair parts we had on hand. Over the next 4 hours, the electronics were repaired and communication was re-established with the SeaDragon. What I was particular impressed with was the student's tenacity and simple refusal to give up. They didn't blame the organizers, they didn't throw their hands up in the air, they immediately went to work trouble-shooting the situation and finding solutions. The team was later recognized in the awards ceremony for their accomplishments and how they handled the situation.

We were given permission to make up for our missed trials earlier in the day. After a great deal of excitement, the SeaDragon was launched and dove into the watery depths on her maiden voyage. After seeing the smoke rolling out the electronics compartment earlier, it was a wonderful feeling of accomplishment. The ROV pilots (Madeleyne Vaca and Tyler Allen) worked as quickly as possible and did the best they could under difficult circumstances. They did an amazing job.

The team excelled on land as well. Their engineering poster won the 1st place award. Their engineering log book scored at the top, and their engineering presentation/interview was highly ranked. Overall, a fourth place finish our first year competing is an outstanding accomplishment. To do it after the aqua-bot was fried, speaks to the teams' character,preparedness, and shear depth of knowledge.

Please join me a congratulating the members of the RoboDragons' "ROV SeaDragon" team on their tremendous accomplishments in overcoming very difficult circumstances. There actions represented the highest qualities of GSMST Engineering. They designed, built, modified, adapted and overcame all obstacles to get the mission accomplished in a timely manner. The critical thinking and trouble-shooting skills developed in project based instruction is simply invaluable to future employers. We may not have won a chance to go to Hawaii this year, but I already have a flowered shirt and shorts packed for next year.

Go RoboDragons!
Dr. Chuck Lockert