Photos & Video: BIOS ROV Regional Challenge

April 30, 2016

Up to twenty-eight teams from nine Bermudian schools and educational organizations converged on the National Sports Center in Devonshire this morning [April 30] for the 2016 MATE Bermuda Regional ROV Challenge.

The program, sponsored by the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences [BIOS], is part of the Mid Atlantic Robotics IN Education Program [MARINE], with lead donor support from HSBC.

A spokesperson previously said, “HSBC has partnered with BIOS for the past 2 years in support of the MARINE Programme and the ROV Challenge, which teaches young people about the world’s oceans, and the importance of preserving them.

“This year’s topic theme for the ROV piloting challenge is “From the Gulf of Mexico to Jupiter’s moon Europa: ROV Encounters in Inner and Outer Space.”

“During the challenge, students will set the robotic vehicles they have built in collaboration with instructors on a variety of missions, from surveying and retrieving samples from a moon-like surface to collecting a coral sample from the “deep sea.”

“Students will also earn points from judges based on a marketing poster and team interviews about their ROV.”

“The challenge reflects BIOS’s commitment to using underwater vehicles to understand complex ocean processes, said program coordinator and BIOS science educator Kaitlin Baird. Building ROVs fosters critical thinking skills, enhances individual and group problem solving skills, and boosts technological fluency.

“It also supports education goals associated with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, known as the STEM fields.”

Click to enlarge photos: