Robots navigate underwater obstacle course

A one-day course to design, build and test underwater robots attracted students from Cork Institute of Technology, the Irish Naval Service and University College Cork to the Hydraulic and Maritime Research Centre.

Sponsored by the Doyle Group and Wavin, and facilitated by IMERC and MaREI, students used their engineering knowledge to build robots to navigate an underwater obstacle course. The competition challenged students to be creative by using basic materials such as wavin piping, small motors, tape cable ties and glue.

“We are working to create upwards of 3,000 new jobs in the maritime sector over the next ten years. This event will encourage these students, who are engineers of the future, to think about how they can apply their skills to a maritime setting,” remarked Val Cummins, IMERC director.

Gillian Bruton, MaREI’s manager said the Mechathon was a great example of how collaboration between different institutions could create an innovation culture. “In one day it allowed the students to go from a design concept to a working prototype.”