About This Blog

Maybe you have heard of ROVs (Remotely Operated Vehicles) before and are curious what my experiences are with them, or maybe you are seeing "robots under the sea" and your have a puzzled look on your face that says "why in the world would you put robots in the water??' That sounds bizarre but kind of neat." Either way, you are welcome to read this blog. I am going to be outlining my past experience building this "underwater robots" (in quotations because they aren't technically 'robots') and my present experiences as I lead a university team that is building a ROV for the 2013 Annual International MATE (Marine Advanced Technology Education) ROV Competition.

To give you a quick idea of what an ROV is, picture a metal or plastic frame with a couple of cameras, and a handful of propellers swimming through the water. Then imagine a cable that runs to the surface from the ROV so the pilot can maneuver the vehicle with just a handheld controller and a television monitor. ROVs can be anywhere from the size of a shoe box to the size of a small house. For the purpose of this competition we keep ours closer to the shoe box size. Here is a short video of our almost finish ROV from last year. It's not a work or art, but we hope to have a great one this year.

Now you may be wondering, "What are these things used for?" Ever wondered how we received footage of the inside of the Titanic, how we get samples off the ocean floor, retrieve test torpedoes, or repair broken oil wells? ROVs. The conditions under water are often too dangerous for human divers, so what better way to get the work done than with a ROV. Each year the MATE Competition centers around a different theme. This year the theme is Ocean Observing Systems.