Highway 68 ROV Club Wins Again at MATE Underwater Robotics Competition

The Highway 68 ROV Club "Sea Sweepers" finished first overall for the fourth consecutive year in the MATE Monterey Bay Regional Underwater Robotics Competition in Aptos. The team now advances to compete in the International ROV Championship at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Tex., in June.

This year's competition simulates the use of underwater ROVs (remotely operated vehicles) in the Gulf of Mexico and on Jupiter’s moon Europa. Teams are required to complete several underwater mission tasks, submit a 25-page technical report, and make a technical sales presentation to working marine science and engineering professionals who serve as competition judges. The “Sea Sweepers” had the highest scores in two of the three competition elements.

The “Sea Sweepers” team includes Salinas High School students J.P. O’Dell, Tyler Allen, Michael Georgiarou, Jack Hyland, Hanna Hitchcock, Chase Oleson, and Brian Ishii, independent student Montana Sprague, and John Yeager from York School. Working in Yeager's garage beginning in the fall, the group designed and built a very sophisticated ROV that could be transported to Jupiter for exploration of Europa’s oceans.

The Highway 68 ROV Club is independent and privately funded, so they welcome contributions and local business sponsorships. For more information, click here or contact the team’s coach and mentor, Kurt Yeager at kurt@seasweepersrov.com .

Go Sweepers! Good luck fundraising and traveling to Houston!