Hi friends!
With competition season just around the corner (sort of), we wanted to offer a little guidance on the multifaceted competitive realm of SubseaSTEM!
Check out our new guide, “Which Underwater Robotics Competition is Right for You?”
Where will we see your bot in 2020?!
Nice resource. I point out to teachers etc that competition websites like MATE provide team reports from previous years building up a knowledge base and researching possible solutions. Like desktop system studies and market scanning !
One other competition I became aware of in the UK, is the STEM Challenge, which is industry led via SubseaUK. It has a different format in that it does not have a pool or other water element, rather it is focused on ideas, design and desktop mock-ups and is a short duration event.
I have been wondering how long it is before one of these teams make use of, or extends, simulator resources like VPerch.
An aside, SubseaUK’s newsletter / magazine often carries ROV news and with reference to the post by @rjehangir on the rise of term underwater drone, the September edition included a headline “Drones of the Future”, a write up on Subsea 7’s / i-Tech’s inspection class AUV. The words “ROV without a tether > drone” caught my eye on a reread !
Thanks, @SubSeaExplorer.org! I have never heard of SubseaUK’s STEM Challenge, but it looks like it hits many of the same points as the other competitions. While I do think the pool/water element strongly helps students to make that real-world connection, I think the STEM Challenge has the potential to reach a larger audience without having access to water as a barrier for entry. Either way, I’m super excited for the next decade of underwater robotic themed STEM education! 
Total agree @emiller I can understand how some groups could have a problem getting water access, even a little childrens pool, can be an issue.
One solution to the lack of water is simulators, even something simple like VPerch they get a feel for operation, teaming and ability to customise or build an ROV from a component inventory and get an understanding of basic properties and variables to manage like mass, volume, power. I would say that is a bit like work these days, as we tend do a lot of options analysis and V&V using simulation rather than building lots of physical versions, with or without SIL/HIL, so even simple models / simulators allow these young maker engineers to experience design process tools from the start. Plus of course lots of cross over with space, when ROV’s and the design and ops processes can act as an analog.
Anyway a new season of competitions is round the corner. Look forward to seeing what they all do this year.
