The URI HydRobotics team put recently on a demonstration for middle school and high school students who are following in their footsteps.

The occasion was SeaPerch, an underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV) competition that took place at the URI Tootell Aquatic Center on May 10. The robotics event featured 128 students on 38 teams.

“The greatest purpose of the HydRobotics team is education,” said senior ocean engineering major Jackson Sugar. “The more experienced team members, such as myself, invest a considerable amount of effort into teaching the younger team members everything we know, from solidworks and manufacturing, to PCB design and software control systems. To then watch those team members explain these subjects to our future generation is very rewarding.”

The SeaPerch program equips teachers and students with the resources they need to build an underwater ROV in an in-school or out-of-school setting. Students build the ROV from a kit comprised of low-cost, easily accessible parts, following a curriculum that teaches basic engineering and science concepts with a marine engineering theme.