Veterans Memorial High School (VMHS) had four engineering teams compete in this year’s International SeaPerch Qualifier in February in La Joya ISD. The Patriot Engineering teams performed exceptionally well as several teams earned multiple trophies for their challenges. The teams were awarded 2- 1st place trophies, 3- 2nd place trophies, and 1-3rd place trophy. In addition, one team, Seawolf, placed 3rd overall, which qualified them for the International Sea Perch Challenge at the University of Maryland. Team members that composed the qualifying team, Seawolf, included freshmen; Gabriel Sanchez, Jaime Ceja, Jaime Sanchez, Patrick Gonzalez, Diego Huerta, Brandon Molina, and Micah Sanchez. The Patriot Engineering teams are looking to build off of this exceptional performance for next year’s challenge.
This was the first time that teams, Seawolf, Sealion, Silversides, and Greyback, from the Patriot Engineering program competed in this event. The qualifying event consisted of 5 challenges: the obstacle course, the mission course, and three additional challenges that the students needed to complete to score points.
The International SeaPerch Challenge is an underwater robotics competition in which students build a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) that can complete various tasks. Building a SeaPerch ROV teaches basic skills in ship and submarine design and encourages students to explore naval architecture and marine and ocean engineering principles. Students learn important engineering and design skills and are exposed to possible careers in naval architecture as well as ocean and marine engineering.
In the challenge, students compete in various obstacle and mission courses. The obstacle course tests high-speed maneuverability and requires your SeaPerch to navigate the course as quickly as possible. The mission course incorporates an objective that is related to a particular real-world application. Mission courses test various skills including a team’s ability to develop innovative solutions and an ROV’s ability to lift, move, and maneuver efficiently. This year’s mission course was titled “Waterway Cleanup”. In this mission, teams were asked to assist with cleanup efforts in a particularly polluted waterway. Teams had to disarm and secure underwater mines, remove trash floating on the water’s surface, and dispose of submerged waste in an underwater vault. The mission was inspired by the real-world challenges of floating garbage patches and dangerous submerged explosives.