Seventh Graders Build Underwater ‘ROVs’

Oyster Bay, N.Y. (June 10, 2019)—Recently, seventh grade students from the East Woods School (EWS) tested out remotely operated underwater vehicles, or ROVs, that they designed earlier this year. The unoccupied, highly maneuverable underwater robots are traditionally operated by someone at the water surface. Students had the goal of getting the ROV to pick up keys and PVC piping from the bottom of a swimming pool.

Students learned about ROVs and studied various physics concepts such as buoyancy, how motors propel objects through the water, switches and more. After learning the necessary concepts, students worked in teams to design and build their ROVs, and they were challenged not only to build the contraptions, but also had to be able to retrieve PVC piping and keys from the bottom of a pool floor.

“The creativity and engineering skills of these students are unbelievable,” said science teacher Jeanne Lore. “We always want our students to be challenged so they can reach their full intellectual potentials.” This STEM project is the first introduction to next year's Leadership Project, an initiative requiring problem solving and teamwork.

On the “fly day,” students traveled to an EWS parent's house to pilot their ROVs in their pool. The students were amazed at how difficult it was to control the apparatus underwater. In reality, technicians that operate these machines in the ocean cannot view the ROV from the surface; to simulate a real environment, the students had to keep their backs to the pool and work off the camera's images on the screen only. The students were able to successfully retrieve numerous objects from the pool floor. They also were able to explain the challenges they faced and how they would adjust their ROV to be more successful.

For more information on the East Woods School, please visit www.eastwoods.org