MATE ROV Underwater Robotics

This past year, a group of students built Staten Island Tech's first underwater robot and entered it into the MATE ROV competition. The Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) center uses underwater robots (remotely operated vehicles or ROVs) as a way to get students of all ages excited about science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Students experience a wide range of educational opportunities from designing and building workshops to competitions that focus on real- world ROV missions, which expose students to STEM fields and help them envision pathways to these careers.
ROVs are also a great way to introduce engineering design, entrepreneurship, and project management to middle and high school students, as described in the Next Generation of Science Standards. Designing and building a ROV for a specific mission takes students through the design process, encouraging them to think creatively to research, test, and evaluate solutions. It also challenges them to organize their time and resources, all the while working toward a deadline. Most importantly, students learn the importance of communication through the project's emphasis on teamwork and collaboration. For a complete overview of the competition, please click here.