Key Attributes

Angelfish

Pufferfish

Triggerfish

Barracuda

Price

Skill level

Competition class

Soldering wires

Soldering components to the circuit board

Drilling required

Camera power filter included

Power attachment for camera

Programmable

Camera included

Meter included

Motor simulation capability

Number of motors

Tether length

Type of control

Hours to assemble

Applicable to all levels, but responses/activities will be increasingly complex for each progressive level.

1. Describe and implement the engineering design process (spiral).
2. Describe specific strategies to address common design and building challenges (keeping on schedule, on budget, team dynamics, safety, etc.)
3. Define project constraints (time, money, expertise, vehicle depth, etc.)

1. Describe what a robot is.
2. Describe the common types and uses of modern underwater vehicles.
3. Conduct an underwater mission and relate this mission to what commercial ROVs are doing in science and industry.  (see MATE Center Competition for examples.)

4. Identify motivating factors and key historic events in the evolution of underwater vehicles.
5. Name and describe the major subsystems of a modern work class ROV.

6. Describe some of the major challenges confronted by developers of early underwater vehicles and describe how they were overcome. 

1. Define current, voltage, resistance and explain their relationship to Ohm’s Law.
2. Describe what a complete circuit contains.
3. Describe the operation of a switch.
4. List three different types of DC power sources and select an appropriate battery for your vehicle.
5. Describe the importance of good electrical connections.
6. Describe the method for changing the direction of rotation of a DC motor.
7. Describe the purpose of a fuse.
8. Describe elementary electrical safety practices.

9. Calculate series circuit values using Ohm’s Law.
10. Calculate the resistance value and power rating of series resistors.
11. Describe the purpose of Pulse Width Modulation for motor control.
12. Describe the use of a MOSFET switch in a motor control.
13. Demonstrate best practices for soldering electronic components.
14. Demonstrate proper safety procedures when working with electrical power.

15. Calculate series, parallel and combination circuit values using Ohm’s Law.
16. Describe the need for filter capacitors.
17. Design a simple filter circuit to protect cameras from motor spikes.
18. Describe methods of video transmission.
19. Describe the operation of a computer controlled motor speed controller.
20. Demonstrate advanced safety procedures when working with electrical.

1. Use plumbing fittings to build a simple ROV frame.
2. Show proper methods for attaching cables to the frame.
3. Demonstrate the ability to make accurate measurements.

4. Use a Computer Aided Design program to build a simple ROV frame.
5. Demonstrate proper wire routing and sealing methods.
6. Describe at least one sealing technique for motors.
7. Use the Bollard test to explain how to match a propellor with its motor to maximize the output thrust and efficiency.
8. Describe the difference between energy and power.

9. Use a Computer Aided Design program to build a complex ROV frame with materials other than plumbing fittings.
10. Describe at least one method for enclosing electronics in a water environment.
11. Explain the basic components of a standard hydraulic system and how these systems can be used to transfer force, motion, and power from a prime mover to an actuator.
12. Design a gripper using hydraulic or pneumatic controls (fluid power).
13. Describe safety procedures for working with fluid power.

1. Describe ways that the physical properties of water differ from those of air. Explain how each of those differences presents challenges and/or opportunities for those designing or using underwater vehicles.
2. Explain why things in water sink, float or tip over and how ballast systems can be used to control these processes.
3. Describe the difference between positive, negative and neutral buoyance and explain why the designers of most underwater vehicles strive for near-neutral buoyancy.
4. Build a simple marine collection device.

5. List and describe the physical forces affecting underwater vehicle motion.
6. Calculate the buoyancy necessary to make any device neutrally buoyant.
7. Describe what a payload is and why it’s important for an underwater robotic vehicle. Why are multiple and/or interchangeable payloads particularly useful?
8. Build a marine collection device with moving pieces.

9. Explain the basic components of a standard hydraulic system and how these systems can be used to transfer force, motion, and power from a prime mover to an actuator.
10. Explain the causes and consequences of metal corrosion and discuss methods to control it.

1. Use a spreadsheet program to graph sensor data.
2. Use a spreadsheet program to perform simultaneous solutions for buoyancy problems.

3. Explain what a microcontroller is and what role it can play in the control systems used for ROVs and AUVs.
4. Explain how a microcontroller can get commands from a pilot through buttons, knobs, and joysticks.
5. Explain how a microcontroller can operate thruster motors, video lights, gripper arms and other systems on a vehicle.
6. Give some examples of common algorithms; list some possible causes and solutions for common control system malfunctions.
7. Use a microcontroller to control motors.
8. Use a microcontroller to respond to human sensor inputs (joysticks & switches).
9. Use a microcontroller to read the results of sensors
10. Use a microcontroller to scale sensor data into human understandable units.