Spotlight on Submarine Rescue and Recovery at Marine Advanced Technology Education Underwater Robot Competition; California and Canadian Teams Snare Top Honors at International Student Competition.

Byline: Marine Advanced Technology Education Center

BUZZARDS BAY, Mass., July 7 (AScribe Newswire) -- At the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center's International Student ROV Competition, teams of students from five countries gathered around poolside workstations, working together to guide remotely-operated vehicles (ROVs) that they designed and built to function as submarine rescue systems.

Fifty-four student teams from five countries, including the U.S., Canada, China (Hong Kong), Scotland, and Russia, participated in MATE's International Student ROV Competition, held June 24-26 at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Buzzards Bay, Mass.

Competitors include student teams representing middle schools, high schools, home schools, community colleges, universities, after-school clubs, outreach programs, and 4-H and Scout clubs. Teams compete in either the "Ranger" or "Explorer" class, depending on the sophistication of their ROVs and the mission requirements. At the end of the competition, three teams in each of two classes rose above the rest.

Explorer Class Winners

Veteran competitors Long Beach City College of Long Beach, Calif. won overall first place in the Explorer class. The team swept all of the Explorer class categories, earning the top awards for their engineering evaluation, poster presentation, and technical report. They were the only team that completed all of the pool missions under the allotted time.

Second place went to Flower Mound Robotics of Flower Mound, Tex. Team member Luke Cragin earned one of three Explorer class "Engineering MVP" awards.