STEM educationStudents point to future of ocean robotics in new global game
College students from around the world demonstrated they could have a hand in shaping the future of ocean robotics as they competed in the first Maritime RobotX Challenge, which was held 24-26 October in Singapore. “Developing autonomy for surface vessels is still in its early stages, and these students have the opportunity to come up with solutions that could set new standards in this field,” said Assistant Chief of Naval Research Capt. Rob Palisin, who helped judge the competition. “In turn, the Navy gets the chance to observe the best young engineers in action and learn from their approaches.”
College students from around the world demonstrated they could have a hand in shaping the future of ocean robotics as they competed in the first Maritime RobotX Challenge, which was held 24-26 October in Singapore.
Fifteen teams from five countries and three continents journeyed to Marina Bay for the event, sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and organized by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) Foundation, the National University of Singapore Faculty of Engineering, and Science Center Singapore.
More than 5,000 visitors attended the three-day event, which featured teams from the United States, Singapore, Australia, Japan, and South Korea. The students, representing some of the top engineering universities in the world, competed to see which can turn an unmanned surface vehicle (USV) into the most effective autonomous system, able to accomplish mission-related tasks without the aid of remote control.
“Developing autonomy for surface vessels is still in its early stages, and these students have the opportunity to come up with solutions that could set new standards in this field,” said Assistant Chief of Naval Research Capt. Rob Palisin, who helped judge the competition. “In turn, the Navy gets the chance to observe the best young engineers in action and learn from their approaches.”
An ONR release reports that each team in Singapore had been given an identical USV— an unpowered version of the 16-foot Wave Adaptive Modular Vehicle — and worked to add sensors, software, and other technology which would allow the vehicle to think and move on its own.
Teams had successfully to complete tasks to demonstrate autonomous navigation and control; obstacle detection and avoidance; docking and target identification; underwater search for an acoustic source; and observation, identification and reporting of a specified target.
ONR says that the event’s location and participating countries underscored the U.S. Navy’s commitment — as laid out in the Chief of Naval Operations’ Navigation Plan — to increasing its presence and strengthening partnerships in the Pacific region. The competition also reflected the Navy’s vision to employ greater autonomy in its unmanned systems.
The biennial event aims to strengthen students’ knowledge in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), enhancing skills the United States will need as the current generation of naval scientists and engineers reaches retirement age.
“These students represent the next generation,” said Kelly Cooper, ONR program officer. “Competitions like this create that pipeline of young people interested in robotics, autonomy and other areas that are critical for the Navy and nation as a whole.”
The three U.S. teams were made up of students from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Florida Atlantic University/Villanova, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Olin College. Along with the international teams, they competed for $100,000 in prize money.
