Robotics and engineering students gathered at the Navy’s Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific’s (SSC Pacific) Transducer Evaluation Center (TRANSDEC) pool to expand their firsthand experience with autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) during the 19th Annual International RoboSub Competition, July 25-31, in San Diego, California.
Congresswoman Susan Davis (R-CA), who attended the event over the weekend, said, "There's nothing more important than a hands-on program [like RoboSub] because it really stimulates the students’ thinking and makes them excited about the future and what they can contribute. I love to see it."
The competition, sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) Foundation/RobotNation, featured student-designed and -built vehicles navigating their way through SSC Pacific’s TRANSDEC pool while completing a difficult series of underwater visual- and acoustic-based tasks.
This year’s event also saw the first ever all-female team of challengers, the Robotic Engineering Aggie Females (REAF) team of Texas A&M University’s Women in Engineering Program, College Station, Texas.
Carmela Keeney, SSC Pacific executive director, was delighted with the Aggies’ demonstration of girl power.
"I am very happy to see more women choosing STEM career fields,” she said, “particularly in engineering. When I was in college you couldn't find another woman to be a lab partner, let alone form a robotic engineering team. To have the first all-female team participate in RoboSub 2016 is very exciting!"
The competition is geared toward students at the college level but is open to all students. Teams are required to design and build a vehicle from scratch, write a technical paper, make a presentation before a panel of judges, create a short video, and develop a website that documents their progress.
SSC Pacific Commanding Officer Capt. Kurt Rothenhaus believes the event benefits both the students and the Center.
"SSC Pacific is proud of its support to Robosub and to help inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers working in the field of robotics. SSC Pacific is energized by the enthusiasm, innovative spirit and team work displayed by all the nations and schools represented."
This year’s winners, California Institute of Technology, took home a prize of $6,000 and bragging rights. Runners up included the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India; Cornell University, USA; G.I. Nevelskoy Maritime State University, Russia; Kasetsart University & Chulalongkorn University, Thailand; Harbin Engineering University, China, and McGill University, Canada.