Purdue ROV competed in Longmont, CO at the 21th MATE World Championship. After an arduous, 15 hour drive, the team reconvened at the hotel to prepare for a week of mission runs, technical presentations, and late night modifications. During the first mission run, our primary camera failed, but undeterred, our intrepid pilot Bryce Sasser still managed to complete several mission tasks! The cameras were brought back online during the last 5 seconds of the run, but Armed with new knowledge, we set out to make all the necessary adjustments and prepare for our second and final mission run. The second run went seamlessly! The ROV piloted effortlessly, and the team scored 125 points in the mission run, narrowly losing out on second place due to a leak sprung in our external float. Thanks to the dedication and perseverance of our members and leadership, the team placed 6th overall in the explorer class! We look forward to the upcoming season where, under the leadership of Zachary Neel as captain, we will build on the lessons learned with X15 ISO-Squid.

Purdue ROV competed in Long Beach, CA at the 20th MATE World Championship. After arriving in California, the team reassembled the robot that had been carefully broken down and packaged for air travel. Over the next several days, though, the team had to rush to repair the electronics stack after the hotel was struck by lightning (yes, really). Luckily, with some Arduinos bought nearby, the team was able to rewrite new communications code from scratch in just two days. This effectively replaced the functionality of our ESC interface boards that had stopped communicating properly with the rest of the electronics stack. The essential repairs were completed just in time for our last mission run. Overall, we placed 10th internationally and 2nd in the engineering technical presentation! The team left competition eager for next season, already working to plan our next vehicle. The team, newly under the leadership of Peter Salisbury as captain, looks forward to returning to the shop, digging into a new vehicle design, and welcoming new team members. See you on campus!

Purdue ROV competed in Johnson City, TN at the East Tennessee State University from August 5th to August 7th. The team achieved 4th place in the Explorer category and won the Aloha Team Spirit Award. ROV Triton performed admirably at competition, piloting smoothly for both mission runs and the bonus. The team is very proud of its achievements and is excited to see what can be done in the upcoming season as Katherine Sandys takes over as captain.

After a unique year of meetings with covid precautions and a half completed vehicle to be finished, the team has qualified for the 2021 MATE World Competition! Grant Geyer guided the team through the many shifts and sought to consolidate designs for reliability, technical challenge, and feasbility. Several innovations were introduced such as a resin printed pneumatic manifold, a USB borescope camera system, and continual improvements. The team looks forward to continuing its frequent pool tests and practicing as much as possible before the competition. Next year, Katherine Sandys will head the team and lead it to new innovations and achievements.

The 2020-2021 season marks a unique season for the team as they try to continue operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Heading into this season, the team experienced change with several of the leads for technical teams assuming their role for the first time. The team has taken the foundation of X12 that was constructed the prior season before the suspension and is building upon that to create the next iteration of the ROV, X13. Two of the main improvements planned for X13 are a more accessible yet powerful electronics design utilizing Power over Ethernet and a software system leveraging more powerful hardware for a more capable ROV. This season we have two prominent R&D projects with the development of custom thrusters, rather than relying on the narrow choice presented by Blue Robotics and the development of welded enclosures aimed at improving resource efficiency. While there are still restrictions in place at Purdue that alter the progress of the ROV, the team is continuing to progress while ensuring that they’re following all Protect Purdue guidelines to maintain a safe working environment. The team is proud of its progress so far and is excited to see its hard work take form.

The 2019-2020 season marked an exciting and bustling new season for the team. The team experienced its fourth change in captaincy with Grant Geyer heading the team. Also new are many of the leads for technical teams. The team pursued many new designs and approaches toward making X12, in addition to several refinements from ROV Remora. The R&D department found new ethernet cameras that were more reliable and PoE compatible for an nearly independent camera system. The major mechanical improvements include a faster and effective method of using a ring clamp to seal the logic electronics tube and the use of 3D prints to house thrusters and to provide buoyancy in conjunction with expanding marine foam. With the suspension of all Purdue activities and the cancellation of the MATE competition, the team is now working at a very limited capacity to prepare ROV X12 for a pool test when available. The team is excited to see its hard work come to completion when normal activities resume.

The year 2019 marked an improvement for the team, with many leaders returning to their positions. The team improved 5 places to finish 13th at the competition and had the second best technical report. The team maintained a similar size of students. In 2019, the competition was hosted in Kingsport, TN by Eastman. The team aimed for an ambitious design, changing the tools system to use pneumatics, the electrical system to CAN and ethernet cameras, and the software system to Robot Operating System. These switches made ROV Remora more robust, but delayed testing and made integration more difficult. The team is very proud of its achievements and excited to see where the upcoming season goes under the new leadership.