Forum
2014 STEM
Ecology
May 3, 2014
ROV Session
Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicles, commonly referred to as ROVs, provide an excellent platform for STEM integration in Maine's K-12 schools. The SeaPerch program equips teachers and students with a kit comprised of low-cost, easily accessible parts, and follows a curriculum that teaches basic engineering and science concepts with a marine engineering theme.
A number of schools in Maine are refining and improving the SeaPerch platform using video cameras and lighting. More advanced ROVs are being designed and deployed which are equipped with a manipulator or cutting arm, water samplers, and instruments that measure water clarity, water temperature, water density, sound velocity, light penetration and temperature.
This session showcases middle and high school programs which are actively engaged in using ROVs to help address critical environmental problems. These include monitoring and mitigation of invasive species, determination of contamination levels in harbors, ponds and streams and various research being conducted in collaboration with non-profits and universities.
Noble High School teacher Dave Parker and student Liam Hilton make adjustments during a field test for an underwater remotely operated vehicle built by students. The ROVs were equipped with light intensity and water temperature sensors, as well as a camera.
Connecting Maine’s Teachers, Students and the Environmental Community
Massabesic Middle School students under the direction of Pat Parent have been working with engineers from the Portsmouth Shipyard to build a total of 30 SeaPerches over the course of the school year. A smaller group of students is developing and testing a modified SeaPerch equipped with camera and plant grabber, shown in the photo to the left.
Bryant Pond 4-H Camp and Learning Center students under the direction of Ryan LeShane and Ryder Scott build submersible robots and equip them with digital cameras. GPS and GIS technology is used to find specific Milfoil growth areas in the water, recording their locations and marking them for subsequent removal.
The ROV Session will focus on the "nuts and bolts" aspects of building and operating ROVs, collecting and interpreting data, and how they can be deployed to address real-world problems.
Falmouth HS students under the direction of John Kraljic and Andrew Njaa participate in The MATE competition which requires students to think of themselves as entrepreneurs and transform their teams into companies that manufacture, market, and "sell" their ROV or the services their business provides.
RoboGoby is a submersible ROV project spearheaded by Limbeck Engineering LLC (a partnership of four students from Freeport High School) with help from students at Baxter Academy in Portland. The goal is to develop an affordable ROV for both scientific and commercial applications. RoboGoby will have five degrees of maneuverability and will be capable of depths over 250ft. (http://robogoby.blogspot.com).
