Congratulations to all of our 2015 SeaPerch Challenge Teams!
Welcome to the 2015 SeaPerch Challenge! Taking place on May 29 – 31, 2015 at the North Dartmouth, Massachusetts on the campus of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (UMassD) at the Tripp Athletic Center, it's sure to be an exciting year with a new challenge course, over 100 incredible teams and much more.
Obstacle Course
An underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV) must be able to maneuver successfully under its own power. If a vehicle cannot maneuver to the appropriate location to perform its task, the vehicle is of no use.
The submerged obstacle course involves large rings (22″ minimum diameter), oriented in any direction, through which the vehicles must travel. Teams must navigate through the obstacle course, surface, then re-submerge and return through the course to the end. Consideration of optimal maneuverability, control and speed should be given when constructing your SeaPerch (thruster placement and orientation, tether attachment, buoyancy and ballast, etc) and control box. Scores for this round will be based on the fastest time for successfully navigating the obstacle course.
There are five (5) -22″ diameter hoops in the obstacle course.
This course will inverted and suspended from the surface due to the the depth of the Nationals Venue.
Mission Course – Finesse
While many roles for ROVs require power, most require the ability to perform delicate tasks remotely.
This 2015 National Challenge task will require students to perform multiple independent tasks that will test their ability to operate their SeaPerches with finesse.
The course consists of three stations in which the vehicles will have to maneuver and actuate equipment on the pool floor. The max pool depth for this event is 5′
Scoring: Max points in the shortest amount of time. The clock stops when the team surfaces and touches the wall with the vehicle. Teams may stop the clock at any time, but it will not be restarted. Teams must inform the judges at the time if they wish to stop the clock and lock in their scoring.
TASK 1 – The Targets
Ever seen the biathalon? With a SeaPerch?
Teams must hit a series of 5 targets of differing sizes. Each Target must be pushed in until the flag Flies! ~3”
The targets will range in size and therefore difficulty. The inner diameter of the targets is as follows: 1”,1-1/2”, 2”, 2-3/8”, 3”.
The heights of the target centers will vary from 2” to 6”. Each target center is separated by 4”
Scoring: Each target is worth 1 Point (max 5 Points)
TASK 2 – The Pipes
“I pick things up and put them down!” What SeaPerch challenge would be complete without a little lifting?
These light weight pipes with a ring attached must be picked up and put in their corresponding set of pipes to score.
Each rod consists of a 6” length of ½” PVC pipe with a polypropylene rope loop on one end and a small weight in the other. This design allows the rod to stand up when left freestanding tin the water. The holder from which operators will have to retrieve the rings is constructed of 1” PVC pipe and will leave at least the top 1” of the rod and the entire loop exposed.
Operators will have to position the rods in one of three Vertical pipe sections with the following inner diameters: 1”, 1 ½”, 2-3/8”.
Scoring: A=1 Point, B=2 Points, C=3 Points. Only one rod scores in each Colum. (Max 15 Points)
If teams put 2 rods in one colum, the highest scoring rod will be scored.
TASK 3 – The Ladder
Kids these days don’t know what an abacus is so we’ll call it a ladder.
The ladder will require teams to actuate grey slides to the side. The Grey slides must be fully within the orange zone to score.
The device is made of 1” PVC pipe with the rungs at different distances apart, starting at 3-1/2” to 7” apart. On 5 of those rungs will be a PVC collar made of 1-1/4” PVC pipe. This collar will be 2″ in length. Not all rungs will have collars on them to be actuated and will serve as guard rungs for the collars. These collars will have to be slid from one side of the rung to the other in order to be placed in the brightly painted area on the rung. The direction that the collar needs to be actuated will alternate from collar to collar.
Scoring: Each Slide is worth 1 Point (max 5 Points)
Obstacle Course
High School
1st Place – HS-149 – Gulf Coast Contenders Club, Gulf Coast Contenders, Saucier, MS
2nd Place – HS-154 – Tiger Sharks, Reitz Memorial High School, Evansville, IN
3rd Place – HS-150 – Neptune Robotics, Souderton Area High School, Souderton, PA
Middle School
1st Place – MS-84 – EHT PAL Submersibles, Egg Harbor Township PAL, Egg Harbor Township, NJ
2nd Place – MS-77 – Hoosiers by Sea, Newburgh, IN
3rd Place – MS-35 – Aquafreaks, Learning by Doing, Ponce, PR
Open Class
1st Place – OP-12 – Lona, Gloucester High School, Gloucester, VA
2nd Place – OP-1 – The Wave Riders, Nolan Ryan Junior High School, Pearland, TX
3rd Place – OP-133 – Zip Ties, Dartmouth HS Engineering Club, South Dartmouth, MA
Finesse
High School
1st Place – HS-150 – Neptune Robotics, Souderton Area High School, Souderton, PA
2nd Place – HS-139 – Sea Owls – SS-405, Boca Raton, FL
3rd Place – HS-106 – Ye Olde SeaPerch, Bloomington South High School, Bloomington, IN
Middle School
1st Place – MS-84 – EHT PAL Submersibles, Egg Harbor Township PAL, Egg Harbor Township, NJ
2nd Place – MS-62 – Taylormade, Springs Valley High School, French Lick, IN
3rd Place – MS-51 – The Sea Chicken, Seton School, Manassas, VA
Open Class
1st Place – OP-1 – The Wave Riders, Nolan Ryan Junior High School, Pearland, TX
2nd Place – OP-5 – Aquatic Stereotype, Bloomfield Schools, Bloomfield, IN
3rd Place – OP-3 – Lona, Gloucester High School, Gloucester, VA
Poster
High School
1st Place – HS-139 – Sea Owls SS-405, Boca Raton, FL
2nd Place – HS-150 – Neptune Robotics, Souderton Area High School, Souderton, PA
3rd Place – HS-149 – Gulf Coast Contenders Club, Gulf Coast Contenders, Saucier, MS
Middle School
1st Place – MS-32 – SeaSharks, Passmore Elementary, Alvin, TX
2nd Place – MS-43 – Sea Owls 8, Boca Raton, FL
3rd Place – MS-41 – Sea Owls Sunrise, FAU High School, Boca Raton, FL
Open Class
1st Place – OP-2 – Dolphins 1, The Palmas Academy, Humacao, PR
2nd Place – OP-11 – Ol’Citrus, Virginia Beach City Public Schools, Virginia Beach, VA
3rd Place – OP-4 – RoboChicks, Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta, Sharpsburg, GA
Overall Results
High School
1st Place – HS-150 – Neptune Robotics, Souderton Area High School, Souderton, PA
2nd Place – HS-139 – Sea Owls SS-405, A.D. Henderson University School, Boca Raton, FL
3rd Place – HS-149 – Gulf Coast Contenders Club, Gulf Coast Contenders, Saucier, MS
Middle School
1st Place – MS-84 – EHT PAL Submersibles, Egg Harbor Township PAL, Egg Harbor Township, NJ
2nd Place – MS-51 – The Sea Chicken, Seton School, Manassas, VA
3rd Place – MS-62 – Taylormade, Springs Valley High School, French Lick, IN
Open Class
1st Place – OP-10 – Aquatic Stereotype, Bloomfield Schools, Bloomfield, IN
2nd Place – OP-2 – Dolphins 1, The Palmas Academy, Humacao, PR
3rd Place – OP-12 – Lonas, Gloucester High School, Gloucester, VA
Championship Results
1st Place – HS-150 – Neptune Robotics, Souderton Area High School, Souderton, PA
Special Awards
Against All Odds: This award recognizes a team that overcame obstacles and maintained a solid team spirit the whole time. Their motors had completely corroded, and in very short order, they worked as a team to rebuild all their motors, integrate them on the SeaPerch and got into the water to compete. They were cooperative, pleasant, and professional in the face of adversity.
HS-136 – Awesome Otters, Orange Park High School, Orange Park, FL
Quality Award for Robustness in Concept and Fabrication: This award recognizes the team went through many design iterations and developed all sorts of prototypes of their various component designs. This prototype and test approach led to their robust final design
MS-59 – Cyber Squids, University Elementary School, Bloomington, IN
Admiral Mooney Deep Ocean Exploration PIONEER Award: He was the Chief of Naval Research and a deep submergence vessel operator. I had the fortune to sit next to him at several National Academy of Science dinners and at the judges’ and awards dinners for the RoboSub Student Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Competitions. He enthralled me with daring sea stories and some amazing ideas. He generally refused to accept NO for an answer, especially when he had a passion for his purpose. The young man we recognize for the Admiral Mooney PIONEER award competed here today as a result of his refusal to accept NO for an answer. His school told him he could NOT start a SeaPerch program, the principal would not allow his teacher to start an after-school science program and invite students to work on robotics. And yet, he built a SeaPerch at home, and found a way to get here and compete today. He also vows that he will start a club and teach others about SeaPerch.
OP-13 – Canyon View, Canyon View Junior High School, Orem, UT
Creativity Award for a Unique Design or Strategy: This team had a unique strategy with respect to design and testing. They had several ideas for thruster configuration, and built a test rig with a dynamometer to evaluate various thruster configurations and their performance before incorporating this robust design into their SeaPerch. Great strategy.
MS-51 – The Sea Chicken, Seton School, Manassas, VA
Office of Naval Research (ONR)
Naval Engineering Education Center (NEEC)
Navy League STEM Institute
Navy League
UMass Dartmouth
SERVO Magazine
NAVSEA Warfare Center Newport, RI
NDEP
CISD
ASNE
MathWorks
Maritime Reporter
University of Southern Mississippi
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SENEDIA
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