The Cane Institute Wins First Place at International SeaPerch Competition
A team from The Cane Institute for Advanced Technologies at A.D. Henderson University School (ADHUS) recently competed in the virtual 2021 International SeaPerch Underwater Robotics Championship.
The Cane Institute for Advanced Technologies (TCI) Kingfishers won first place in the middle school division for their engineering team interview and engineering presentation.
“I am both proud and impressed at the hard work put in by all team members,” said James Nance, STEM instructor and SECME coordinator at ADHUS. “Their computer vision project and machine learning citizen science initiative truly goes above and beyond anything I have seen done with a SeaPerch ROV before.”
The Kingfishers’ engineering project involved innovative work with artificial intelligence in collaboration with the Chasing Coral Project at the University of Queensland, Australia.
The project uses a seaperch robot to scan a reef, compare pictures of the reef with a neural network of photos from healthy reefs to then determine the health of the reef the seaperch is swimming over. This method could be implemented by anyone, anywhere in the world, with an inexpensive SeaPerch ROV and an underwater camera.
“The TCI Kingfishers showed dedication, determination and true grit as they worked together remotely through the pandemic to win an international championship,” said Allan Phipps, STEM coordinator at ADHUS. “The Cane Institute is dedicated to supporting students like these as they overcome all odds to represent our program, our school, and our university on the international stage.”
The SeaPerch program provides students with the opportunity to learn about robotics, engineering, science and mathematics. Building an underwater ROV teaches students basic skills in ship and submarine design, while encouraging them to explore opportunities in naval architecture and ocean engineering.
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