By Khalida Sarwari
West Valley College was the site of roaming underwater robots last weekend as dozens of students from 19 California high schools came together for the Navy’s Regional SeaPerch Competition.
Accompanied by educators and parents, students from the Bay Area to the Sacramento Valley went head to head for a shot at gaining entry into the national SeaPerch competition. Independence High School in San Jose was the only school from Santa Clara County competing.
SeaPerch is the Naval Research Office’s underwater robotics program that equips teachers and students with resources to build an underwater remotely operated vehicle. To do this, each participating school was provided a kit comprised of low-cost and easily accessible parts last summer. They were then asked to follow a curriculum that teaches basic engineering and science concepts with a marine engineering theme.
Several schools were so enthusiastic about the program that they purchased additional kits so they could field multiple teams in the competition, according to Mark Alvarez, a spokesman for the Navy Recruiting District San Francisco, which hosted the March 19 event in collaboration with Navy City Outreach Los Angeles.
Throughout the project, students had an opportunity to learn engineering concepts, problem solving, teamwork and technical applications. The overarching idea behind the competition is to promote an interest in science, technology, engineering and math.
“We are very happy to bring an event like this to the community,” said Cmdr. Joel Rodriguez, executive officer for NRD San Francisco. “It allows us to put a personal face to the Navy and provides a great opportunity to get more young people interested in STEM.”
Eighteen teams competed in three different events for a combined total score. NASA Ames Research Center engineers and Naval officers judged the teams on a visual display and knowledge test, an underwater obstacle course and an underwater skills test where each remotely operated vehicle had to manipulate a series of levers in sequence to release floating orbs to the surface, according to Alvarez.
Central Catholic High School from Modesto was declared the overall winner, while Lincoln High School in Stockton and Capital Christian School in Sacramento came in second and third, respectively. The first and second place teams are advancing to the national competition, which will take place in May at Louisiana State University.
Link: Underwater robots dive right in for competition at West Valley College
