Humber was one of 27 teams at the international competition that had students designing autonomous, robotic boats to navigate through a course. These boats are also designed to tackle tasks that mimic real-world challenges facing the marine industry including coastal surveillance, environmental monitoring and other types of oceanographic operations.
Ian Cameron, a graduate of the Bachelor of Industrial Design program who just finished his third year of the Bachelor of Engineering – Mechatronics program, was one of three Humber Mechatronics Club team members who travelled to Florida for the competition.
Cameron said the team was looking for a challenging competition and were intrigued when they came across RoboBoat. They liked the real-world aspect of the challenge and wanted to see how they stacked up against the other teams, including from prestigious post-secondary institutions such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Cornell University.
Three smiling people hold up a cheque and a sign that reads Humber Polytechnic.
Despite not being able to deliver a boat to the competition, the team completed all the other requirements for the competition such as drafting a technical report, creating a website and introduction video and providing a design presentation.
“We completed everything but putting a boat in the water,” said Cameron. “It helped immensely being there for the first time. Going to the venue and seeing what’s required of teams was invaluable. I’d add that the community was fantastic as well.”
The team left with the Rising Innovators award.
