 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 2008 MATE international ROV Competition challenged students to design and build ROVs for operation on mid-Atlantic ridges and deep sea hydrothermal vent environments. This event took place on June 26-28, 2008 at the University of California, San Diego. 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 actively informed, encouraged and assisted students in designing and building ROVs to be entered in the 2008 Mid-Atlantic ROV competition. The Mid-Atlantic regional ROV competition was held April 19, 2008 at Langley Air force base in Hampton, Virginia. Two Dare County schools, Manteo High School and First Flight High School, designed and buily ROVs to enter in the Mid-Atlantic regional competition. UNC – CSI provided 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. First Flight Hish School took first place in the 2008 Mid-Atlantic ROV competition and went on to compete in the International ROV competition were the placed sixth out of 26 teams from six countries around the world.
 ROVs created by student teams were 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 completed 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 competition theme focuses on hydrothermal vents found at mid-ocean ridges abd the technologies used to study these deep-sea environments.UNC-CSI is gearing up for another year of ROV competition. Each year, UNC-CSI and partners host a ROV teacher workshop where teachers can learn how to integrate ROVs into their curriculum as well as put together a school ROV team. We are curently working on setting a date for the workshop, please check back for updates.
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