Remote Underwater Exploration
We participated in the Batemans Bay High School Hack-a-thon on the 6th of July, getting a group of 5 students in years 5-9 to build a SeaMATE Angelfish ROV kit. It was awesome! The simple kit components were put together to build an operational vehicle in a day. Students gained an understanding of buoyancy, propulsion, motors, wiring and switches. But most importantly they were inspired by their success, which will encourage them to go further and learn more.
The US state of Hawaii has banned certain types of sunscreens in order to protect coral reefs, effective January 2021. Chemicals targeted are octinoxate (often labelled octyl methoxycinnamate) and oxybenzone, which are believed to contribute to coral bleaching and death of baby corals, respectively.
Full articles available at: CNN, Hawaii Bans Suncreens 03jul18
or NPR, Common Sunscreens May Harm Coral 02jul18
Amazing Anna Du, a 12-yr old from Andover Massachusetts, built a Smart Infrared-based ROV to collect micro plastics from the ocean. She is one of this year’s finalists in the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientists Challenge and we think her invention is INCREDIBLE. You can see Anna’s 2018 Young Scientist Challenge Entry here: Young Scientist Lab
Robotics courses, clubs and events for students of all ages are more readily available and frequent than ever, especially in the US. Here are a couple of fun examples of student robotics clubs building ROVs and enjoying the challenge of competitions:
Local SeaPerch competition in Massachusetts: Andover High School students in robotics competition
Local SeaMATE competition in Seattle Washington: Port Townsend STEM club advance to 2018 MATE competition
2018 International MATE Competition going on RIGHT NOW (21-23 June in Seattle Washington):
2018 International MATE Competition home page
Live-stream video at 2018 MATE Comp
Note – live-streaming starts at 3am AEST
The Water Rescue Team in Vail, Colorado has invested in a remotely operated vehicle because “the ROV will make [the] team’s job a lot faster and safer.”
Full article available at: VailDaily, 24may18
