On May 11, The Sidwell Friends Robotics Club made its annual trek to Villanova, Pennsylvania for the MATE ROV Competition. The contest, which aims to inspire students to pursue STEM careers through outside-the-box challenges, oversees 48 regional events around the world in which student-led “companies,” with their custom-built, remotely-operated vehicles in tow, compete to successfully “sell” their designs in a series of product demonstrations.
Although Sidwell-affiliated teams had failed to take home major awards since the pre-COVID era, the 2024 competition presented a surprise: both attendees, Seapolitan and Zartman Technologies, walked away with the Best Marketing Display and First Place trophies respectively.
Junior Anton Chen, the designated “CEO” of Seapolitan, was beyond gratified to win his award. “Winning the Marketing [Trophy] was quite a pleasant surprise,” he commented. “We were all very happy and grateful to receive it, and we snapped some cool pictures with [it] too.”
Seapolitan hails from humble beginnings. Named after the iconic ice cream flavor and oceanic competition theme, the team was founded in January, making it an outlier next to Zartman Technologies, whose roots trace back to 2021. “Unlike returning teams who modify or build upon their previous robots, we, as a newly formed team, had to start from scratch,” Chen recounted.
Despite the roadblocks that come with being rookies, he attributed their success to “most of [the] members already [being] close friends,” which allowed them to “become tight-knit very quickly.” Through effective collaboration, they quickly developed the new skills they needed to succeed, whether they be “circuit building, programming, 3D printing, laser cutting, [or] using power tools, to name a few.”
Fronting the team is an ROV with a similarly quirky name: Marco Poolo, an underwater robot equipped with numerous gadgets to complete competition tasks. Comprising most of its weight is its frame, constructed from laser-cut acrylic and bilge pump thrusters affixed to each side for seamless sub-aquatic movement.
Rounding out the device are two waterproof cameras, flotation foam and the feature Chen considers to be the one he is “most proud of”— a pneumatic claw manipulated by a “[plastic] syringe” and a “bike pump” inflated or deflated from the surface.
“It sounds a bit sketchy,” he acknowledged, noting that air must travel over “50 feet of tubing” to reach the underwater mechanism.
Of all the contributing factors to Chen’s excitement for robotics, the greatest is the prospect of welcoming new members to his team.
“My hope is that Sidwell students can appreciate the fun, challenging, intensive and rewarding aspects of the journey that took us to where we were at the competition,” he shared. “To anyone who is even remotely interested in joining robotics, I highly encourage trying it out … I really do think [it] is one of the most rewarding activities at Sidwell.”
Darby Thompson, the team’s long-time coach and supervisor, agrees with his sentiments. “Robotics is a place to learn something new in a totally different environment from the classroom,” she gushed. “No experience is necessary, just an open mind.”
For students interested in “build[ing] the best [robots] in the DMV and beyond,” robotics offers open registration throughout the year and meets weekly on Fridays and Sundays. Teams look forward to the next MATE competition, slated for May 2025, in hopes of continuing to rake in trophies and hone their engineering skills.
