eduROV Summer School

During a two week summer school, high school students will build an underwater vehicle based on a design from NTNU

By Ingvild Forseth

PhD candidate Kristoffer Slåttsveen develops the eduROV project, a kit that enables everyone to build their own underwater vehicle. During the summer school, high school students will get familiar with the kit and launch their very first ROV.

The summer school is held from June 25th to July 6th at NTNU. Fifteen to twenty students will participate. In addition to receiving building instructions both in text and in video format, the students will be assisted throughout the day by tutors.

eduROV Summer School:

  • June 25th – July 6th.
  • Invites high school students to build a ROV using a development kit.
  • ROV stands for Remotely Operated Vehicle, which is a remotely controlled underwater vehicle.
  • 15-20 students will participate.
  • Aimed at high school students in the Trønderlag area, but if you are able to obtain accomodation for yourself, anyone can apply.
  • www.edurov.no for more info, or contact kristoffer.slattsveen@ntnu.no.

Will build a underwater vehicle using cutting boards

ROV stands for Remotely Operated Vehicle, a more technical term for what is in fact a remotely controlled underwater vehicle. The eduROV kit includes all components the students need in order to put together their ROV, such as batteries, electrical components and microcontrollers.

“The mechanical structure of the vehicle is made from plastic cutting boards bought at Biltema that need to be sawn correctly. The students will also have to solder and do some programming in order to complete the ROV”, Slåttsveen explains.

The summer school will start off with an introduction of the technologies used, including Arduino, Raspberry Pi, Python and the electrical circuit. Students will be divided into teams with the goal of launching their ROV in water.

High school students are invited to build their own underwater vehicle. Photo: eduROV
High school students are invited to build their own underwater vehicle. Photo: eduROV

Started as a maker-project

In 2014, Trondheim Makers experienced difficulties using drone kits in educational courses due to new regulations. So why don’t just put the drone in the water? They sketched some drawings and the eduROV project was born.

“The challenge was to build a ROV for less than 3000 NOK, with parts from general hardware stores and easy accessible electronics”, Slåttsveen says.

Some attempts were made before Slåttsveen gathered previous results and developed the today’s version. The eduROV is simply a cheap mini ROV. An out-of-the-box solution such as Blueeye costs approximately 50 000,- Norwegian kroner.

Available to everyone

The plan is to make eduROV an international open source project. It is based on the widely deployed platforms Arduino and Raspberry Pi.

“We are launching the project the same day as the summer school starts. Everyone with a jigsaw and soldering iron can try out building the ROV”, Slåttsveen informs.

Although the kit is designed using components from Norwegian retailers such as Biltema, the components should be easily accessible anywhere in the world.

“Recently, I was asked about the project by a guy that wanted to build the ROV to have on his sailboat”.

The underlying researcher’s agenda

One of the purposes of the summer school is for Slåttsveen to test the eduROV project. He has two main goals with the research he will conduct during the summer school.

“First, I want to see if the project is within reach technologically for high school students. Secondly, I want to find out the learning outcome from such an experience”.

The use of eduROV as a learning tool is based on the idea that practical experience is essential for development of self-efficacy. Slåttsveen hopes the school will help the students develop creative confidence. To measure the impact, the students are expected to participate in interviews.

Complies with Engage’s goals

The eduROV project is exactly Engage’s cup of tea, who is financing the summer school. One of the goals of Engage is to introduce design thinking and prototyping to students.

The goal of the summer school is to make technology less intimidating and inspire the students to choose an educational path oriented towards technology.

Kristoffer Slåttsveen

The students will only be asked to write a few words about their motivation when applying, which will be possibly in near future on the project’s webpage. The only requirement is curiosity – which is all that is needed when Engage teach students how to succeed in generating new, innovative solutions.

eduROV is a development kit for building your own underwater vehicle, a ROV. Photo: eduROV
eduROV is a development kit for building your own underwater vehicle, a ROV. Photo: eduROV

Check out the eduROV webpage, www.edurov.no, which will be under continuous development towards launch of the project in the summer.

PS: the eduROV project calls for student assistants to be tutors for the high school students. The position involves daily attendance in the two weeks the summer school is arranged (June 25th – July 6th), and requires that you have some experience with hand tools and computer technology. Application deadline is March 15th. Contact kristoffer.slattsveen@ntnu.no for further notice.