Sixty-five teams from 17 countries participated in the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center’s international underwater robotics competition. Top honors in the Explorer (advanced) class went to Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) from Hong Kong, while Watsonville Firefighters’ Seal Team 1272 from Aptos, California, captured first place in the Ranger (intermediate) class.

During the event, held June 23 to 25 in the Viking Aquatics pool at Long Beach City College in Long Beach, California, student teams competed using ROVs that they designed and brought to life.

This year’s ROV competition highlighted the role ROVs play in securing the health and safety of today’s seaports. Participants were also encouraged to think about how this technology may influence the port cities of the future. During the competition, students operated their ROVs to handle tasks such as locating containers that had fallen off a cargo ship, constructing an underwater tunnel, and cleaning up contaminated sediment.