Students ready for robotics challenge
(CNS Local Life): The fourth annual Cayman Islands SeaPerch Challenge, in which young aquatic engineers come together to build and compete with a remote operated vehicle (ROV), is set for tomorrow (Saturday, 23 March). This year’s competition, held at the Camana Bay Sports Complex pool beginning at 9am, has attracted 24 teams from eight high schools in Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac.
The students will participate in a series of in-pool technical events, and compete for a chance to represent their school at the International SeaPerch Challenge, 1-2 June 2019 at the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland, stated a press release. Participating schools are Cayman Prep & High School, St Ignatius Catholic School, Layman E. Scott High School, Triple C School, Cayman International School, Clifton Hunter High School, John Gray High School and the High Achievement Academy.
Students must complete two events successfully and within the shortest amount of time for a space on the podium. First, the traditional obstacle course event requires teams to navigate their ROV through obstacles as quickly as possible – making swift adjustments as necessary.
This year, the competition features a new event – the Mission Rescue and Recovery Course. Inspired by those who rescued the young Thai football team, who spent days trapped in a cave last year, the new course requires students to navigate their ROVs through an evolving environment, the release said.
However, the competition is not purely technical. In addition to building, testing and operating their team’s ROV, participants also document their design, construction and modification process in an engineering journal, which is graded by the judges from the Webb Institute, an undergraduate naval architecture and engineering college.
Introduced in Cayman in 2015, SeaPerch encourages interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) through interactive, hands-on learning in local classrooms. To ensure that participating schools, both students and teachers, get the most out of their SeaPerch experience, Minds Inspired hosts an interactive training session for teachers and provides participating schools with kits.
Together with Minds Inspired, the event is hosted by Maples, London & Amsterdam and the Women’s International Shipping and Trade Association.
The public is welcome to attend the free event.
To learn more about SeaPerch and other Minds Inspired events go to its website
Category: High School, Schools, Technology
