Mar 3 2011
A Robotics Club of Yavapai College, in its maiden attempt, has qualified for the Marine Advanced Technology Education Remote Operated Vehicle (MATE ROV) competition. This international competition encourages teams to build remote operated vehicles.
The Yavapai College Robotics Club has qualified for the international competition without competing in the regional competition due to lack of competitors. The YC Robotics Club had to carry out a series of tasks that were videotaped. The final competition will be held from June 16 to 18, 2011 at the NASA Neutral Buoyancy Lab in Houston, Texas.
The YC Robotics Club is one of the few community colleges that has qualified for the international event. Several top-rated American universities including Cal Poly State University, UCLA, Harvey Mudd College, and Purdue University and teams from other countries abroad will also be participating in the international competition.
This year’s competition focuses on the problems faced by the offshore oil and gas industry during the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The purpose of this competition is to highlight the role played by the ROVs in collecting information about the spill. The ROVs must be capable of collecting samples and measuring depths in appropriate locations. In addition, teams have to list the role played by the ROVs in solving practical difficulties such as removing a damaged riser pipe, sampling organisms, or capping a wellhead.