A Summer Sequel: SMU Engineering’s Robotics Club Resurrects Seahorse for “Oceans 11” Naval Competition in San Diego
Dallas, Texas – July 14, 2008 – Last summer, someone stole Seahorse I, code-named Yellow Submarine, out of an SMU engineering student’s car just two days before it was to leave for the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Competition, a San Diego-based event attended by schools across the U.S., India, Canada and Japan.
The students scrambled to recreate the underwater robot, designed to hunt for submerged treasure. It took $3,000 and thousands of hours to build the original. Seahorse II turned out to be the darling of the competition, after word circulated about the underwater underdog. The 2007 team placed 11th and won the Perseverance in the Face of Adversity award.
A year later, six team members (three from the original Seahorse I crew) prepare to compete again with Seahorse III in the 2008 competition, themed “Oceans 11.” The group raised $25,000 in gifts this fall, including $10,000 cash grants from both Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, to build the bigger, better submarine.
“This is our second competition as a team and our plan is to make it into the top 3,” says Nathan Huntoon, SMU Engineering Ph.D student and Robotics Club member.
While last year’s model was relatively basic, with the ability to drive underwater in a straight line, Seahorse III operates with three separate computers and enough electronics to blow through 2.2 million mathematical calculations per second. Other communication bells and whistles include:
Wireless Ethernet, like the kind used on laptop computers.
A range of sensors, called hydrophones, that work like underwater microphones.
Bumpers, powered by mechanical switches, so operators know when to back up.
The team is working feverishly these last two weeks to complete testing in campus pools and in their appointed electrical engineering rooms. All are full-time students; some, like Nathan, have research assistant positions.
“Electrical Engineering department chair Marc Christensen has been really supportive,” Huntoon says. “We manage to get our work done, so we can devote the rest of our waking hours to Seahorse III.”
That dedication also means keeping the robot safe.
Last year, Seahorse I was stolen out of a car, but it was also more portable at around 20 pounds. Now, the team keeps the sub locked up, but the weight alone would make it hard to hijack: Seahorse III weighs in at around 70 pounds.
School of Engineering
SMU’s School of Engineering, founded in 1925, is one of the oldest engineering schools in the Southwest. The school offers eight undergraduate and 29 graduate programs, including both masters and doctorate levels.
A private university located in the heart of Dallas, SMU is building on the vision of its founders, who imagined a distinguished center for learning emerging from the spirit of the city. Today, 11,000 students benefit from the national opportunities and international reach afforded by the quality of SMU’s seven degree-granting schools.
