• Competition

  Autonomous underwater robotics is an exciting challenge in engineering, which participants get to experience at SAUVC. The competition is great learning ground for participants to experience the challenges of AUV system engineering and develop skills in the related fields of mechanical, electrical and software engineering.

• Mentorship

  Participants will have access to mentors and support. Teams will be assigned liaisons who will be able to provide mentorship and technical guidance as the teams work on designing and building their AUVs. SAUVC emphasises outreach, learning and skill development and we want to ensure everyone learns and grows through the course of SAUVC.

• Guest speakers

  The competition will also feature workshops and lectures from world renowned experts in the field of marine robotics and autonomous underwater systems to inspire participants with new ideas and techniques to solve challenges and build an interest in careers related to marine robotics.

• Get-together

  The competition is also about meeting others like us, who are also interested in underwater robotics and autonomous systems, to get to know one another, to share ideas and make connections.

Competition

The SAUVC competition challenges participant teams to build an AUV which can perform given tasks. These tasks are simulations of tasks operational AUVs would have to be able to perform. The competition is held in a swimming pool and each team's AUV will have to perform 4 tasks. The speed and accuracy at which the AUV performs tasks will be used to decide the winner of the competition.

The tasks involve four widely faced challenges underwater such as AUV navigation, visual identification, acoustic localization and robotic manipulation.

Detailed explanation of the various tasks of the competition and rules are in the Rulebook.

The competition is open to participants from all over the world. A team may consist of up to 8 participants. At least half of the participants must be students at the time of registration.

Calculate your score! Total = 0 pts

Tentative Schedule

Speakers

• 

  Kelly B. Cooper

  Program Officer, Office of Naval Research

  Using a simulation environment (virtual competition) to enhance the performance of autonomous vehicles.

  The Office of Naval Research is committed to supporting continued engagement and growth of students. The ONR also sponsors multiple robotics programs managed by RoboNation, a nonprofit dedicated to providing a pathway of hands-on educational experiences that empower students to find innovative solutions to global challenges. This talk will discuss some of the programming that exists including SeaPerch, RoboBoat, RoboSub, Maritime RobotX and a new Virtual RobotX competition.

  Speaker's Bio

  Ms. Kelly B. Cooper is a Program Officer at the Office of Naval Research, Mission Capable, Persistent and Survivable Naval Platforms Department, Advanced Naval Platforms Division where she specializes in Naval ship design sciences, especially design generation, and modeling & simulation using advanced computational techniques. She initiated a variety of student robotics competitions for the US Navy, including the Maritime RobotX Challenge, RoboBoat and SeaPerch

• 

  Richard Mills

  Director of Marine Robotics Sales, Kongsberg Maritime

  Improving Productivity in Deep Water AUV Surveys.

  Productivity can be measured in many ways: effective survey time, area coverage rates, data volume and so on. With productivity in mind Kongsberg has introduced the HUGIN Superior, a 6000-meter rated AUV which is configured with best of everything that can fit into an AUV. This talk will showcase the various technologies that have gone into the HUGIN Superior including synthetic aperture sonar, multibeam echo-sounder, sub-bottom profiler, camera, laser, magnetometer and methane sensors.

  Speaker's Bio

  Richard Mills is the Director of Marine Robotics Sales with Kongsberg Maritime. He is responsible for the HUGIN and MUNIN Autonomous Underwater Vehicles and K-MATE, the latest generation Unmanned Surface Vessel controller. Leading a team of sales personnel located in Norway, the UK and USA, Richard is based out of the Kongsberg Maritime office in Westhill, Aberdeen.

• 

  Marcelo H. Ang, Jr.

  Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, National University of Singapore.

  Robotics in Our Daily Lives.

  Robotics science and technology have evolved from the seminal applications in industrial robotics and other industries including construction, mining and agriculture. One common theme in these emerging applications is the human-centered nature and applications in unstructured environments, where robotic systems surround humans. This talk reviews the state-of-the-art developments in fundamental capabilities in both hardware and software and will conclude with the challenges in science and technology to further accelerate the robotics revolution.

  Speaker's Bio

  Marcelo H. Ang, Jr. is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the National University of Singapore and also the Acting Director of the Advanced Robotics Center. His research interests span the areas of robotics, mechatronics, autonomous systems, and applications of intelligent systems.

• 

  Dr Gabriele Ferri

  Research Scientist, NATO STO CMRE.

  Autonomous robotics networks for underwater surveillance.

  Advances in marine robotics have made it possible to detect, localize and track an underwater object autonomously. Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) provides low cost and less resource intensive approach for such tasks. However, a single AUV is limited in its processing capabilities when a large surveillance area is required to be monitored. It has been tested and verified that a group of low cost AUVs operating in a networked configuration can address this issue. In this talk, the performance of autonomous systems in a surveillance application is explored along with their potentialities and the challenges.

  Speaker's Bio

  Dr Gabriele Ferri is a Research Scientist at the CMRE where he investigates novel approaches for the autonomy of AUVs in ASW applications. He has been the Technical Director of SAUC-E from 2014 to 2018 Student Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Challenge-Europe and of euRathlon 2014 and 2015 robot competitions and Technical Director of the European Robotics League Emergency 2017.

• 

  William J Kirkwood

  Senior Research and Development Engineer at Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

  Plastics in the Food Web. A problem for future technology solutions.

  On World Ocean Day a statement was made that there are more than 51 trillion pieces of microplastic in our oceans. This plastic is having an impact on every part of our ocean and on every person dependent on the food web. This plastic waste has contaminated the darkest reaches of the ocean at depths over 10km deep and found frozen into icebergs. The question is, now what do we do? With the help of advanced instrumentation and robotics we are starting to be able identify these plastics and trace them to their source. This talk discusses the issue and gives background on the science and impacts to the environment we live in. Then discusses the challenges this places on the future for society and begins to give hints at some of the technology approaches being considered to correct this issue.

  Speaker's Bio

  William (Bill) Kirkwood has been with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) since 1991, and in that time has held many positions, including Director of Engineering. Bill has also developed a number of vehicles and instruments at MBARI including the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Tiburon, the autonomous vehicle class (AUV) Dorado and the deep ocean Raman systems (DORISS) to name a few.

Travel

• Getting to Singapore

  Singapore is one of Southeast Asia's largest aviation hubs, so unless you're coming from Peninsular Malaysia or Batam/Bintan in Indonesia, the easiest way to enter Singapore is by air. In addition to Singapore Airlines and SilkAir, Singapore is also home to low-cost carriers, Scoot and Jetstar Asia. In addition to the locals, every carrier of any size in Asia offers flights to Singapore, with Air Asia and Firefly operating dense networks from Singapore.

  More Information

• Visa

  Many nationalities can enter Singapore without a visa. Refer to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority for current guidelines. Entry permit duration depends on nationality and entry point. Most people get 14 or 30 days, although EU, Norwegian, Swiss and US passport holders can get up to 90 days. If you are a registered team and need invitation letters to apply for a Visa to Singapore, please contact your Team Liaison.

• Get Around

  Getting around Singapore is easy. The public transportation system is extremely easy to use and taxis are reasonably priced. All public transport systems in Singapore use the EZ-link contactless RFID farecard or a Nets Flash Pay card. You can store value on it and use it on trains (MRT) and city buses. The card can be bought at MRT stations can be "topped up" in increments at the farecard vending machines or 7-Eleven stores. Taxis use meters and are reasonably priced and honest. Mobile apps like Gojek and Grab are handy in getting Taxis.

  More Information

• Accomodation

  Accommodation in Singapore is expensive by South-East Asian standards. Backpackers' hostels can be found primarily in Little India, Chinatown, Bugis, Clarke Quay and the East Coast at about $25-40 for a dorm bed. Some hostels will rent out whole rooms. Alternatively, the entire dorm room (4 or more beds) can be booked. This provides space for equipment. Check out 65hostel, Airbnb, 9flats for more options.

  More Information

Venue

Singapore Polytechnic
500 Dover Road
Singapore 139651

• By Public Transport

  Singapore Polytechnic is at the door step of Dover MRT (train) Station (EW22 Dover). You can also take buses from various parts of Singapore to either Commonwealth Avenue West, Dover Road or Dover Avenue. Google Maps and Gothere.sg are handy websites for finding out bus routes.

• By Car

  The venue address is Singapore Polytechnic, 500 Dover Road, Singapore 139651. The nearest car park to the venue is near Gate 2 or Gate 3.

Sponsors

We are very grateful and would like to say a big Thank You to all the sponsors of SAUVC over the years.

We are currently looking for sponsors for SAUVC 2019. Interested in encouraging underwater robotics? Contact us at [email protected]

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