Designing and Building a Remotely Operated Vehicle for NASA’s International ROV Competition

In 2015–16, I joined a team of 12 classmates to design and build a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) for an international competition organised by MATE (Marine Advanced Technology Education) and NASA. ROVs are subsea robots used in industries like oil and gas and marine exploration.

The competition, organised by MATE and NASA, challenged teams to design ROVs that could operate in underwater environments simulating oceans on other planets and moons. Our goal was to create an ROV capable of tackling timed underwater tasks like measuring distance, depth, and temperature; collecting seabed objects; and manoeuvring in challenging environments.

The project was a comprehensive engineering effort, combining software and controls, electronics, mechanical systems, and manufacturing. One key challenge of this year's competition was meeting a strict diameter constraint and minimising mass - mirroring real-world requirements for space missions which was the context of the competition given NASA's connection. 

To address this, I proposed two unique features of our ROV - a spherical frame and retractable tooling. The spherical design ensured compliance with size restrictions in all directions while maximising internal volume. Retractable tools allowed the ROV to remain compact during deployment, then expand to deploy key components like motors and a gripper. This design provided greater torque and reduced flow disturbance given the motors were further from the center of the robot; and allowed the gripper to be positioned forward or downward to be more versatile for different tasks.

We built the frame from laser-cut acrylic with modular holes, enabling quick integration of components like motors, cameras, tooling, and a pneumatically actuated gripper, all using standard PVC pipe. This modular, retractable design allowed for extensive testing, refinement, and easy adaptation for future missions.

After completing the ROV, we competed in the UK national competition placing second, where we then qualified for the international finals at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Lab in Houston TX. Our team placed in the top third overall at the international competition which a great result (especially considering our budget was a 10th of some of teams!). 

Participating in this project was an invaluable experience. It gave me my first real opportunity to apply engineering skills to a real-world problem and collaborate closely with a tight team - plus getting to put a robot you've helped build in the pool where astronauts train for space walks was really fun!