Robotics team makes history at international competition

The ARISE team was photographed following the final round. Front row: Paul Hodson, Siraj Sabihuddin, Ariel Bautista, Michael Milner and Jimmy Desai. Back row: Laura Armstrong, Nhung Nguyen, Frédéric Mustière and François Bélanger.

 
A group of uOttawa students made history this summer by being the first rookie team to advance to the final round of an international university competition in San Diego, California.

Students Ariel Bautista, Jimmy Desai and François Bélanger prepare SMODE, the group's submarine, for a practice run.

The Advanced Robotics Innovation Society in Engineering (ARISE) was one of 18 teams participating in the International Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Competition and one of only three Canadian teams.

The rookie team ranked sixth overall and received the "Best New Entry Award." An impressive showing during the second qualification run advanced the team to the final round where their robot was able to complete half the difficult course correctly. Final round competitors included MIT, Cornell, Duke, École de technologie supérieure and the University of Rhode Island.
 
ARISE is a student group involved in large-scale robot design and development projects. The team designed and constructed an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) over an eight-month period. Using various sensors and a sonar array, the AUV navigated a course within a confined area and completed a variety of other tasks including dropping markers into bins and locating a submerged sound source.