Students utilized their creativity and robotics skills to construct a SeaPerch robot. photo by AJ Domagala
Robotics II students competed in the intense, yet fun SeaPerch underwater robotics competitions.
TJ’s Robotics team is no stranger to building unique works. Since the beginning of the second semester, students in advanced robotics have been following design protocol by identifying a problem, creating a solution, identifying the best solution, building a prototype, testing it, and then redesigning it. Students applied this protocol into building the SeaPerch. The SeaPerch is an underwater robot, or a submersible, that is programmed to carry out a number of actions by a student driver. The students were responsible for planning out and controlling the flow of the project; this required grit, creativity, and teamwork.
Students started the second semester by diving into the student activity of building the SeaPerch. The students were divided off into six teams. There were days where teams could test out their robot in the school’s pool with one person setting up the course and another person controlling the robot.
When students finished building their projects, they competed against one another to determine which teams would move on to the next competition. The competition within TJ took place at the pool. Students controlled their robots to run through either the challenge course or the obstacle course. The challenge course required navigating a narrow underwater cavern to transport supplies and rescue remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) that have fallen apart. In this course, students also have to program the submersible to either keep a light illuminated for the entirety of the course or for a few seconds at a time, open vaults to retrieve canisters, and place the canisters on a platform. The obstacle course required maneuvering around at high speeds. This course tested the SeaPerch operator’s ability to turn and adjust the vertical position while driving in full speed, and to quickly reverse the robot if it is off course.
Two teams went to Regionals for the stock division, which has a certain budget for the robot and other materials, and the open division, which has no budget. After a grueling yet exciting day of competing at Regionals, the winners were announced. Both of the TJ teams had a successful time competing against other schools by winning second place. Sophomore Natalie Miranda voiced, “We were really happy that we got second. It was fun to even get to compete.” All the students were grateful to have had the chance to participate in the SeaPerch Challenge and gain more experience with robot construction. The stock team earned a spot at Nationals in Maryland this summer. Sophomore and member of the winning team, Kilby Atkinson stated, “This is very exciting because I have never gotten this far before and it is something new.”
The process of constructing and programming robots requires exceptional skills and deep understandings of how machines work. The SeaPerch Challenge is just one of the many ways that Robotics teacher Matthew Santambrogio drives his students to achieve new heights in robotics. Wish the stock team good luck as they go on to make their mark on a national scale.
