Bermudian Students to Gather for Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) Challenge

Middle school event will be held April 30 at the National Sports Centre

Twenty-eight teams from nine schools and educational organizations will converge on the National Sports Centre on Saturday, April 30, for the 2016 MATE Bermuda Regional ROV Challenge. The program, hosted by BIOS, is part of the Mid Atlantic Robotics IN Education Program (MARINE), with lead donor support from HSBC.

Globally, HSBC focuses on supporting educational initiatives which promote learning about the environment. In Bermuda, HSBC has partnered with BIOS for the past 2 years in support of the MARINE Program and the ROV Challenge, which teaches young people about the world’s oceans, and the importance of preserving them.

This year’s theme for the ROV piloting challenge is “From the Gulf of Mexico to Jupiter’s moon Europa: ROV Encounters in Inner and Outer Space.” During the challenge, students will set the robotic vehicles they have built in collaboration with instructors on a variety of missions, from surveying and retrieving samples from a moon-like surface to collecting a coral sample from the “deep sea.” Students will also earn points from judges based on a marketing poster and team interviews about their ROV.

The challenge reflects BIOS’s commitment to using underwater vehicles to understand complex ocean processes, said program coordinator and BIOS science educator Kaitlin Baird. Building ROVs fosters critical thinking skills, enhances individual and group problem solving skills, and boosts technological fluency. It also supports education goals associated with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, known as the STEM fields.

For the 2016 piloting challenge, MARINE will be partnering with the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) center to host a regional challenge. Students will be competing at two levels, as designated by MATE. Beginners will compete at the Scout level and more advanced students at the Navigator level. Students will complete the event on the same challenge course as other MATE regional partners internationally.

The event on April 30 begins at 9.00 am and is free and open to the public. In inclement weather, the event will be held on Sunday, May 1.  For more information, contact Kaitlin Baird at kaitlin.baird@bios.asu.edu.