05/13/2011: "FHHS ROV Team 3rd Place"

By Michael Barsamian

Saturday, May 7th, was the MATE Underwater ROV (Remote Operated Vehicle) competition in Federal Way for the Friday Harbor High School Robotics team.

Their team, led by senior Nick Roberts and junior Alex Halliday, didn’t have high expectations, due to it being their first year as participants. The team originally only had two hours on Sundays scheduled to work on the ROV, but the builders put in many more hours of work than that.

The competition itself in Federal Way consisted of two underwater runs. In each of these runs, the ROV had to simulate capping an oil well, collecting biological samples, closing a valve, etc. Completing tasks in these runs earned each team points. After taking the best score from both runs, each team had their poster reviewed by a judge, and gave a technical design report on their ROV. These presentations focused on the electronic scheme, special appendages, motors, and abilities of the ROVs.

After finishing the competition, the FHHS team was awarded with the Spirit Award, and the 3rd Place Award for the Ranger Class, finishing behind Team Endeavor and Team Neptune (both a part of the Skagit Sea-tech 4H Club). The FHHS team’s presentation and poster were both rated the second best in their class.

Unfortunately, the Friday Harbor Middle School Team was unable to participate in the competition.

The participants on the FHHS team would like to thank Nick Frazee and Marc Vermeire as well as the community members who helped mentor them. They would also like to thank the University of Washington Friday Harbor Marine Biology Labs and Public Schools Foundation for donating space and resources for the construction of the ROV.