HKUST Robotics Team Named Champion in Hong Kong Regional of MATE International ROV Competition for 7th Consecutive Year
The HKUST Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) Team defended their championship status in the 12th Hong Kong Regional of the MATE International ROV Competition. The ROV Team, a sub-team of the HKUST Robotics Team, has been named champion in this competition for the seventh consecutive year. They will represent Hong Kong to take part in the MATE International ROV Competition 2017 in Long Beach, California, US on June 23-25.
Organized by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Hong Kong on April 22-23 at Tseung Kwan O Swimming Pool, the Hong Kong regional competition attracted over 60 teams from secondary schools (in Ranger Class) and universities (in Explorer Class) from Hong Kong, Macau and Mainland China. The HKUST ROV team consists of 15 engineering undergraduates from various disciplines and they are mostly in Year 1 and Year 2.
In the competition, teams had to build underwater robots to tackle simulated missions in the industry, such as infrastructure installation/maintenance, biological sampling, and accident site mapping. They also had to prepare materials to promote their ROV, including posters, brochures, technical reports, and safety documentation. Performance was evaluated by judges from both engineering and business perspectives.
Besides the competition, the HKUST ROV Team has been keen on giving back to the community. The students cooperated with IET Hong Kong to develop an electronic grading system for the Ranger Class, providing an environmentally-friendly and more effective grading tool for judging. They also hosted the IET Hong Kong Experience Class for Primary 6 to Form 2 students who have no experience in ROV to build a ROV from scratch and run in water. More than 30 teams from 24 schools joined the class which was held on April 23 at the competition venue.
IET Hong Kong is the second largest overseas branch of the IET, UK’s largest professional engineering institution. MATE International ROV Competition has been organized by the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Centre (located in California, US), in association with the Marine Technology Society’s ROV Committee, to engage students in STEM and expose them to science and technology careers. The competition in June will be joined by winning teams in 30 regional contests across the US and around the world.
Student List
This news was prepared with the help of ROV Team member Heng Su (CSE, Year 2 undergraduate).
Related links:
