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Copiah-Lincoln Community College company SeaWolf Underwater Robotics Engineering (S.U.R.E.) will compete in the 2016 Marine Advanced Technology (MATE) Center’s international student Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) competition at the NASA Johnson Space Center’s Neutral Buoyancy Lab in Houston, Texas, June 23-25. This year marks S.U.R.E.’s fifth year to compete in the 15th Annual M.A.T.E. competition. S.U.R.E., also known as “The SeaWolves,” is a student operated organization on the Wesson campus and functions as an education-based approach to the design, development, and operation of ROVs. The SeaWolves is comprised of nine-student members and four mentors with departments including physics, drafting, precision machining, electronics engineering, mechanical engineering, and business/entrepreneurship.
M.A.T.E. and S.U.R.E. collectively employ these areas to advocate the education of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). It is the goal to captivate the attention of all people and to promote students learning and using the skills needed to be successful engineers, business/entrepreneurship personnel, and most importantly to be well-rounded individuals capable of adapting to all real-world situations. This attention to being well-rounded and inclusive of all bright thinkers is what sets S.U.R.E. apart from all other ROV teams.
S.U.R.E. utilizes advanced technologies to complete its goal of building the superior ROV for the M.A.T.E. competition; these technologies include Computer Numerical Control (CNC) milling, National Instrument’s LabVIEW, AutoCAD, and SolidWorks software. The design of SeaWolf V began in August 2015 during which the company members communicated possible designs for the new machine. A Manta ray shaped ROV was suggested as well as a hub-cap ROV and a Star Trek Enterprise styled ROV. The conceptual process is perhaps the most creative process of an ROV company; this is when admitting failures and learning from them is most “ok.” Decisions can be made to correct issues early on which is easier than doing it later on. In November, M.A.T.E. placed a Request for Proposal (RFP) for an ROV capable of handling the exploration of Jupiter’s Europa and the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico. None of these “creative” prototypes would work, so the SeaWolf Company had to be creative in their design for the competition.
After completion of SeaWolf V’s major systems, the team prepared a demonstration video of a qualifying run during April. Upon first submission to the M.A.T.E. center, the video recording passed our company for qualification in the 2016 M.A.T.E. international competition. This facility boasts the world’s deepest indoor pool facilities measuring 40 feet 6 inches (12.34 m) deep and can contain up to 6.2 million gallons (23.5 million liters) of liquid water.
A unique feature of SeaWolf V is its light and compact design. The ROV was designed with this in mind specifically because the RFP ideally called for a machine under a 58 cm diameter. The SeaWolf V can fit inside a hula hoop and was also designed to fit within an ideal weight constraint of 17.01 kg to 19.0 kg.
To visualize our machine, consider the shape of a microwave or small stereo speaker. At the bottom of SeaWolf V, two rods stretch the length of the machine which serve as legs or feet. The rods are mounted to brackets which are mounted a cylindrical tube. Four thrusters are mounted to the tube; these devices act as the propellers of the ROV. The technology within the electronics tube (E-tube) is most extraordinary. Two cameras, a video encoder, temperature sensors, LED indicators, a S.U.R.E. designed motherboard, and many wiring harnesses with plug-ins are included inside this tube which is about the size of a fully grown house cat.
The SeaWolf Company has proven itself at the international M.A.T.E. competitions placing fourth in the world last year only succeeded by teams from California, Hong Kong, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The Company was the second American team among 31 international teams. The qualifying video and uupdates may be viewed on the SeaWolf Company Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/colinseawolves/?fref=ts. Sponsors for the SeaWolf Company include Georgia-Pacific LLC (Monticello division), Copiah-Lincoln Community College, Brookhaven Country Club, SeaTrepid, I-55 Engineering, and Canvas Next Door Restorations.
For more information about SeaWolf Underwater Robotics Engineering, contact CEO and marketing coordinator Lauren Westrope at (601) 552-1575 or email lbrouillette8946@st.colin.edu.
More information about the M.A.T.E. ROV competition can be found at http://www.marinetech.org/rov-competition-2/ or contact M.A.T.E. Principal Investigator/Director Deidre Sullivan at (831) 646-3081 or email at dsullivan@mpc.edu.
S.U.R.E. Company members are front row from left, Blake Pryor, Lauren Westrope, Kevin McKone (mentor), Reginald King; back row from left, Carey Williamson (mentor), Colby Phillips, Thomas Westrope and Gage Pinson. Not pictured are Charles Miles and Wes Burkett (mentor).
