Program Overview

Join us May 10, 2008 for the Third Annual
Greater Philadelphia Sea Perch Challenge
Drexel University
Daskalakis Athletic Center
Event: 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Registration: 8:30 am - 9:00 am

Background
MIT Sea Grant's new Sea Perch program introduces pre-college students to the wonders of underwater robotics. Part of the Office of Naval Research's initiative, "Recruiting the Next Generation of Naval Architects," this program teaches students how to build an underwater robot (called a Sea Perch), how to build a propulsion system, how to develop a controller, and how to investigate weight and buoyancy. This endeavor is one of many exciting new projects funded by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) as part of its National Naval Responsibility Initiative. The initiative focuses on bringing academia, government and industry to work together to ensure that the talent needed to design the Navy's next generation of ships and submarines will be there when needed.  To visit the MIT Sea Perch website please visit http://web.mit.edu/seagrant/edu/seaperch/WhySP.html.

So how did it end up in Philadelphia?
The Delaware Valley Section of the American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE) and the Philadelphia Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) brought the Sea Perch program to Philadelphia and Drexel University. ONR funds the kits that ASNE and NSWC provide for the competition. In the spring of 2005 Drexel hosted a teacher training and through contact with the School District of Philadelphia’s Office of College and Career Awareness Secondary Robotics Initiative the idea for hosting the fist ever sea perch competition came about.  The Secondary Robotics Initiative brought the Delaware Valley Industrial Research Council (DVIRC) onboard as a partner to round out the industrial expertise.  The first Greater Philadelphia Sea Perch Challenge Sea Search and Rescue was held at Drexel University on Saturday, Jun 3, 2006.

Eligibility
The Greater Philadelphia Sea Perch Challenge is open to middle schools, high schools, and community colleges in the Greater Philadelphia region.  The goal is to increase student interest in robotics, science, mathematics, engineering and technology and to introduce students to naval engineering.   

The Structure of the Event
The event is structured to give students an overall experience in the engineering process.  The first category, Vehicle Performance, is a test of how well the students did in designing and building their ROV.  The second category, Team Presentation, is a test of how well the students can convey their engineering ideas and market their ROV.  The third category, Teamwork Summary, is a test of the students organizational and documentation capabilities.  The fourth category, Spirit & Sportsmanship, is a test of the students’ capabilities to recognize and encourage better solutions and engineering.

Competition Categories & Judging
There will be separate competitions and awards for High Schools/Community Colleges and Middle Schools.

Each team is judged in each of the four competition categories:

• Vehicle Performance
• Awards: First Place, Second Place, and Third Place
• Team Presentation
• Awards: First Place, Second Place, and Third Place
• Teamwork Summary
• Awards: First Place, Second Place, and Third Place
• Team Spirit & Sportsmanship
• Awards: First Place, Second Place, and Third Place

Panels of external judges from industry, government agencies and higher education will evaluate the competition.  Each category will have its own separate panel of judges.  Each team will be given a score for each event and each category will have three awards. 

Overall Greater Philadelphia Sea Perch Winner
Each team will receive a score for each of the four competition categories listed below, these scores will be added together to determine the overall Greater Philadelphia Sea Perch Challenge Champion.

All awards will be announced at the end of the competition.  All teams will receive a package in the mail containing their teams scoring sheets from the competition.  Detailed information on the competition categories is included in this packet.

For a pdf version of the 2008 rules click here

For a copy of the Kick-Off Presentation click here

For a copy of the Construction Manual click here