Robotics Team Wins Caltech Competition: Profile Highlights 2016 Victory and Supported Causes

The Caltech Robotics Team won first place at the 19th annual International RoboSub Competition for autonomous underwater vehicles in San Diego, held from July 25-31, 2016. Their robot submarine, nicknamed “Dory,” successfully completed tasks requiring it to touch buoys, fire torpedoes at targets, and rescue an object underwater—all autonomously.

The team’s entry was widely acclaimed as the most beautiful robot in the competition and performed impressive feats of autonomy, including a double barrel roll through the ‘style points’ navigation gate, according to faculty advisor Joel Burdick, the Richard L. And Dorothy M. Hayman Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Bioengineering in the Division of Engineering and Applied Science.

Tyler Okamoto, a rising senior and the team’s project manager, said it was great to see the culmination of all their efforts. Okamoto was one of 18 Caltech representatives at the competition.

Despite having the smallest student body, Caltech fielded the largest student team to participate in the event, as noted by Burdick. Team members worked around the clock as the competition approached, with the software team making critical tweaks to the hydrophone system just hours before the race that contributed to their victory.

Burdick reflected that working with the team during the preparation period reminded him why he chose a career in academia, calling it a thrill to be associated with such a great group of students.

Guruswami Ravichandran, John E. Goode, Jr., expressed pride in the win and the exemplary work accomplished by the team.

The Caltech Robotics Team packed up after their autonomous submarine, Dory, spent only eight minutes in the water—less than half the time allocated for the competition—demonstrating efficient and effective autonomous performance.