Underwater Robotics - Seattle Academy The Hub Underwater Robotics: MATE League Seattle Academy's Underwater Robotics team participates in the annual MATE (Marine Advanced Technology Education) contest which simulates many real-world aquatic challenges through a series of tasks. Blueshift Robotics designs and constructs Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) to complete these tasks in new and innovative ways. In the 2020-21 competition “Blueshift Robotics” advanced to World Championship; which went swimmingly as we placed in the top 10 telepresence teams! In 2023 “Triton Robotics” took home first place in the Navigator Division of MATE. Classes of MATE Seattle Academy Competes In: Scout Class Middle School (Beginner) Navigator Class Middle School (Advanced) Ranger Class Upper School Some challenges we have faced in the past are: Locating the wreckage of a vintage airplane and returning its engine to the surface. Installing and recovering a seismometer. Installing a tidal turbine and instrumentation to monitor the environment. Transplanting coral fragments. The team practices several times per week during Winter and Spring Trimester, learning principles of buoyancy, fluid power, water-proof electronics design, coding, design, prototyping, fabrication, and testing to produce a working robot that can solve the competition tasks. In addition, the team learns best practices in product management and team dynamics. The season is a bit longer than that of “Redshift Robotics” and less competition focused which opens the door for more student driven projects. While every team member is involved in multiple aspects of the project, each member works on subprojects, such as budgeting, marketing, electronics, chassis design, and documentation. There are roles for both engineering and business-focused team members. Project leaders are elected by the team and the work is done entirely by students (with mentor supervision). While the team is competitive in the Northwest Region, this program is intended to welcome all enthusiastic participants regardless of experience level. In Blueshift Robotics, the world is your oyster. meet our underwater robotics faculty league and competitions View this post on Instagram A post shared by Blue Shift Robotics (@blueshiftrobotics2020) Previous MATE competition challenges include: Locating the wreckage of a vintage airplane and returning its engine to the surface. Installing and recovering a seismometer. Installing a tidal turbine and instrumentation to monitor the environment. Transplanting coral fragments. Scout Class : Middle School (Beginner) Navigator Class : Middle School (Advanced) Ranger Class : Upper School Recent Awards and Accomplishments 2022-2023 1st Place in the Navigator Division. “Triton Robotics” composed of 8th graders. 2nd Place in the Scout Division. The “Hammerheads” composed of 6th & 7th graders. 2020-2021 World Championship Finished in top 10 teams 2018-2019 Regional Tournament Finished in top 5 teams What’s the difference between the FTC Robotics club (Red Shift) and Underwater Robotics (Blue Shift)? Who can be involved? What is the time commitment? Can I get class credit for Underwater Robotics? Red Shift (which we refer to as “terrestrial robotics”) participates in an event (FRC) that involves working with and against other teams to win games. Blue Shift focuses on a practical problem that teams attempt to solve with their design. While the event is judged and scored based on the team’s success in solving the problems, our robot is never in head-to-head competition against other robots. The underwater aspect also adds a significant level of difficulty to the design problem for Blueshift Robotics. Team members must take a deeper dive into engineering concepts due to the added complexity of performing underwater given that the robot must be able to maintain neutral buoyancy and stability while working several meters under water to solve the competition tasks. Blueshift welcomes all participants regardless of experience level and finds roles and tasks that each member can contribute to and learn from. Practices are once or twice a week for three hours, during winter and spring trimester. Extra practices are sometimes added in the weeks leading up to the competition. Yes! You can get either one Computational Thinking or Entrepreneurship & Design credit for an entire year of participation in Blueshift Robotics.