An underwater robotics competition held at McNeese State University had students across Southwest Louisiana create their own robots out of everyday household materials. All robots were built from scratch and everything used in the making of these machines was 100 percent free to the kids.

Said underwater robotics competition was a collaboration with McNeese University, Burton College of Education, the Calcasieu Parish School Board, the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the Region 5 Stem Center. This competition had over 100 kids from the 5th to the 12th grade joining. They were then divided into 27 teams to battle out various underwater games and competitions with the robots they had created.

An organizer of the underwater robotics competition, Dana East, praised the children’s robot-making skills. “The students have built their own underwater robots from scratch. They sawdered, they drilled holes, they put everything together from the circuit board to the frame and now they are putting them in the water and running them through speed courses and obstacle courses that simulate what ROVs would actually be doing in real life underwater.”, says Dana.

Another organizer, Terri Simpson, adds how the idea of this competition is to have the kids make something affordable and easy while teaching kids about engineering development.

This underwater robotics competition is the first of its kind at McNeese, and organizers are looking forward to continuing and expanding it each year.