As the name suggests, Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) are underwater vehicles maneuvered by a person operating a remote aboard a surface vessel. Used for many scientific applications, the addition of a video camera and lights assist the operator as their “underwater eyes” during exploration scenarios where divers or other submersibles cannot be used due to safety or weather conditions. One harsh weather environment where ROVs are valuable is polar regions. The 2007 international ROV competition challenges students to design and build ROVs for operation in polar environments. This event will take place June 22-24, 2007 at Memorial University and the Institute for Ocean Technology in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The MATE Center and the Marine Technology Society’s ROV committee are organizing the international competition with the MATE Center supporting and helping organize the 14 regional contests across the U.S., Canada, and Hong Kong. 
UNC – CSI is actively informing, encouraging and assisting students in designing and building ROVs to be entered in the 2007 Mid-Atlantic ROV competition. The Mid-Atlantic regional ROV competition will be held April 21, 2007 at Langley Air force base in Hampton, Virginia. Three Dare County schools, Manteo High School, First Flight High School, and Cape Hatteras Secondary School, are in the process of designing and building ROVs to enter in the Mid-Atlantic regional competition. UNC – CSI is providing some equipment, such as the underwater cameras for the local schools participating in the competition. The top teams from each regional contest will advance to the international competition.
A practice competition for the Dare County schools will be hosted by UNC – CSI on April 6, 2007 from 1:00-4:30 p.m. at the Outer Banks Family YMCA in Nag’s Head, NC.
ROVs created by student teams will be judged on a series of three underwater missions, an engineering review, a technical report, and 
a poster display. During the Mid-Atlantic regional competition students will complete the first two underwater missions, an engineering review and a poster display (mission three and the technical report are completed at the international competition only). The underwater missions will take place in three different environments. Mission #1 takes place in the largest flume tank in the world, with water capacity of 1.7 million liters (450,000 gallons). This first mission involves using the ROV to thread a messenger line through a buoy anchor and then returning the messenger line to the surface with the ROV. The mission is successful when one team member holds both ends of the messenger line in their hands. In Mission #2 teams are to complete a series of 3 tasks in an ice tank where the water surface can be frozen and the air temperature maintained at a uniform negative thirty to fifteen degrees Celsius to simulate the polar environment. During the first task of this second mission they are to collect one benthic jellyfish, the second task the team must collect on sample of algae, and for the third task the team must deploy a passive acoustic sensor within a designated area. Mission #3 occurs in an engineering basin that is used to simulate the extreme ocean environment; waves, wind, and currents can be controlled to achieve various sea states. This final mission consists of a series of steps to follow in order to install a gasket in a wellhead and inject corrosion prohibitory into the wellhead’s protective cover. 
a poster display. During the Mid-Atlantic regional competition students will complete the first two underwater missions, an engineering review and a poster display (mission three and the technical report are completed at the international competition only). The underwater missions will take place in three different environments. Mission #1 takes place in the largest flume tank in the world, with water capacity of 1.7 million liters (450,000 gallons). This first mission involves using the ROV to thread a messenger line through a buoy anchor and then returning the messenger line to the surface with the ROV. The mission is successful when one team member holds both ends of the messenger line in their hands. In Mission #2 teams are to complete a series of 3 tasks in an ice tank where the water surface can be frozen and the air temperature maintained at a uniform negative thirty to fifteen degrees Celsius to simulate the polar environment. During the first task of this second mission they are to collect one benthic jellyfish, the second task the team must collect on sample of algae, and for the third task the team must deploy a passive acoustic sensor within a designated area. Mission #3 occurs in an engineering basin that is used to simulate the extreme ocean environment; waves, wind, and currents can be controlled to achieve various sea states. This final mission consists of a series of steps to follow in order to install a gasket in a wellhead and inject corrosion prohibitory into the wellhead’s protective cover. The competition focuses on polar science ocean observing, and industry operations taking place in polar environments. The competition raises global climate awareness, increases students understanding of polar regions, and brings out the visibility of marine technical fields, educational and career opportunities with potential employers for the students involved.