The K. White MetalHawks Robotics team competed in this year’s SeaPerch Challenge on Saturday April 13th, 2019. The SeaPerch Challenge is an innovative underwater robotics program, sponsored by the Department of the Navy (DoN) that equips teachers and students with the resources they need to build an underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV). Students build the ROV from a kit comprised of low-cost, easily accessible parts, following a curriculum that teaches basic engineering and science concepts with a marine engineering theme. Throughout the project, students learned engineering concepts, problem solving, teamwork, and technical applications.
This year’s competition included two in-pool components. The two mission courses included this year’s mission Rescue & Recovery and the 2018 SeaPerch National Challenge. For the Rescue and Recovery mission, teams were asked to assist with navigating a narrow underwater cavern to transport important supplies and rescue an ROV that fell apart during an earlier attempt at the course. This mission was inspired by the real-life events that took place in Thailand in 2018 where a group of students were trapped in a cave with rising water. The subterranean environment there presented significant challenges for the rescuers and required a team that could safely navigate the cave.
The second mission course consisted of the 2018 SeaPerch National Challenge in which teams had to transport items from one tower (Origin) to the second (Score) tower as quickly as possible. Teams were ranked by adding the amount of points they scored on each of the two courses. The K. White MetalHawks robotics teams performed well in both SeaPerch Challenges.
The Alpha team tied for 1st place in the 2019 challenge with 39 points and placed 3rd in the 2018 challenge with 31 points. Their overall score was 70 points which placed them 1st overall and qualified them to the National SeaPerch Competition. The Bravo team scored 28 points in the 2019 challenge and placed 4th in the 2018 challenge by scoring 30 points. With a combined score of 58 points the Bravo team placed 3rd overall and were recognized as alternate qualifiers.
The MetalHawks will now travel to the University of Maryland located in College Park, MD to compete in the 2019 National SeaPerch competition. The competition will be held June 1st - 2nd. This was the first year that the MetalHawks competed in SeaPerch. The team has performed exceptionally well in other competitions including HESTEC, TCEA, First Lego League (FLL) and First Tech Challenge (FTC). With this performance, the MetalHawks continue to add significant accomplishments to the program’s legacy.