Mrs. Bruister’s 6th grade PACE class participated in the Regional SeaPerch Competition at Mississippi State University on March 26.
SeaPerch is an underwater robotics contest. Students create it by using PVC pieces as the body. They then have to cut, strip and solder wires to the three thrusters (motors). The thrusters are made waterproof by putting into a film canister and putting wax on top and bottom. Propellers are then put on.
The control box has five parts to solder onto the circuit board. The thrusters are mounted onto the frame, the controller is connected to a 12 V battery and the students test their ROV to see if it has enough buoyancy. One thruster is responsible for making it go up and down in the water and two thrusters make it go right, left, forward or backward.
AUVSI Foundation provided the kits with funds from a grant. A total of $800 in a grant was used last year to purchase the tool kit and three SeaPerch kits. The class also received three more kits this year, a $450 value.
The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) manages the program and partnered with The Office of Naval Research (ONR). It is a national K-12 STEM Outreach program. Each year the SeaPerch teams compete in two different competitions. In the obstacle course the ROV must navigate underwater through 18” circles. They have to drive through a ring, go through the top and come from underneath to complete the five ring course. Once they have reached the end and surfaced they have to come back through.
The second competition involves transporting rings, cubes, and rods from one location to another. There is a 15-minute time limit for both competitions. Prior to the competition the team members have to complete an engineering notebook based on the engineering design process.
Students who participated in the Regional SeaPerch Competition were Lilia Dimistrovia, Lilly Holland, and Dallas Peacock. Other students who helped build it are Nyla Bunn, Quay Carter, Lily Courtney, Amanda Lopez, and Hayden Betts.
