CRLS Underwater Robotics Team Takes 2nd Place in Regionals

By Larry Aaronson

The CRLS Underwater Robotics team took second place in the 8th Annual International Student Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) Competition regional held on April 25th at the Maritime Academy in Buzzards Bay, MA and will now go on to compete in the final international competition on June 24th through June 26th again in Buzzards Bay. The seven member team successfully designed and built a remotely controlled, self-propelled, marine robotic rescue devise that located and rescued lost submerged objects under water. The CRLS team beat out 21 other public, private and technical high school programs from all over New England, New York and New Jersey.

The seven member team is comprised of two seniors, Hannah Malenfant and Jason Richardson, three juniors, Tanmoy Barau, Daniel Kim, and Rishi Patel, and two freshmen, Simran Dhillon and Alexander Chiclana. The team meets regularly after school as a club, designing, building, testing and perfecting their underwater robotic devise under the instruction of CRLS Marine Biology teacher, Paul McGuinness. They have been preparing for this rigorous and demanding competition since mid-December, undertaking their collaborative efforts after school, and often on weekends and even during school vacation time. They worked after school in Mr. McGuinnes? laboratory classroom and tested their working marine rescue devise in the War Memorial pool, before taking the ROV down to Maritime Academy in Buzzards Bay. Their marine rescue vehicle operates by remote computer controls also designed and built by the students.

The 8th Annual ROV underwater rescue competition was sponsored by the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center and the Marine Technology Society (MTS) ROV Committee. Their educational goals are to teach submarine rescue technology and to increase students? awareness about careers in marine technology. Mr. McGuinness explains that he has volunteered all his time, energy and expertise supervising the marine technology CRLS student team out of his deep passion for teaching marine biology and technology. Likewise the prize-winning student team reciprocate with their own passion and discipline effort. The team built their robotic rescue device largely from recycled materials from previously years. Mr. McGuinness donated much of the other material himself. Draper labs and the Cambridge Department of Recreation have donated material and personnel. The Underwater Robotic team also collaborated in part with RSTA engineering teacher, Conrad Hauck, who supervises RSTA's student robotic team that similarly competes on land in the annual First Robotics national competition.

However gratefully appreciative the marine robotic team is of their generosity, it has been has been, per force limited. While McGuinness notes that much can be said about the utility of teaching these diligent engineering students 21st century resourcefulness and creative ingenuity in these economically trying times, more financial and personnel support contributed from Cambridge institutions would be much welcomed and affirming of the winning team's impressive success.