Students build and test marine ROV’s as part of the E2@MIT Program

MIT Sea Grant hosted 12 exceptional high school students this past week as part of MIT¡s E2@MIT science and engineering residential camp, MIT Sea Grant hosted the students interested in underwater robotics. Dr. Tom Consi, MIT Sea Grant¡s research education specialist and Michelle Kornburg a MIT UROP student, led the students from across the country in making an underwater remotely operated vehicle or, ROV, commonly known as lSeaPerch.For the whole week the MIT Sea Grant classroom was filled with the sounds and smells of creating an marine ROV, PVC was cut and drilled, wax was poured around motors to waterproof them and wires were soldered to make the control box. Students got to test drive their vehicles in MIT Sea Grant¡s new 6000 gallon testing tank make sure their vehicle was heavy enough to sink, but buoyant enough to drive. The week culminated in the students attaching inertial sensors to their vehicles so they could study the motion of their vehicles and begin to understand how to use data to improve performance. The students modified their Sea Perches to perform extreme maneuvers such as spin, barrel rolls and high accelerations. Some students even threw their vehicles into the tank to measure the acceleration upon impact to simulate an aerial drop of an ROV.The kids came in here complete strangers and by the end they¡re collaborating and asking each other when they have questions rather than asking us. They were brilliant.Œ MIT Sea Grant UROP Michelle Kornberg, rising sophomore ocean engineering student at MIT who was the teaching assistant for the program.E2@MIT is run out the MIT¡s Office of Engineering Outreach Programs. Student can apply in the fall of their junior year, all food and boarding costs are covered by the program. Student also participate in admission and financial aid seminars as well as tour tours and meetings with MIT faculty and students. Learn more.