ROV Part 1: Build, Balance, and Explore

CSUSB First Star ROV — Part 1: Build, Balance & Explore
WOVEN
ROV Workshop
Day 1  ·  Part 1 of 2  ·  Build, Balance & Explore
CSUSB First Star  ·  You are the underwater robotics team today.

Today you'll see how ROVs are used in the real world, then head to the pool to work like a real underwater robotics team. In your group you'll install the camera, adjust buoyancy, and build a front tool — then test, solve problems, and improve your design mission by mission.

🎯 Driving Question

What kinds of underwater jobs are better for a robot than for a person?

🧭 Today you will
  • Learn how ROVs are used for research, inspection, and underwater work
  • Work as a team to prepare and improve an ROV
  • Adjust buoyancy so your ROV moves better in the water
  • Build a front tool for underwater tasks
  • Complete a series of pool missions using teamwork and problem-solving
1
🌊 See It Work
~15 min

Before you build anything, watch how real ROVs do jobs underwater. Watch both clips, then talk with your team.

Clip 1 — Exploring the ocean

A research ROV built to make ocean exploration cheaper and easier. Watch where it goes and what it can reach.

Clip 2 — Inspecting underwater

An ROV used for real inspection work — checking structures a person would find hard, slow, or dangerous to reach.

🗣️ Talk it out

With your team, name three underwater jobs a robot can do that would be difficult, dangerous, or impossible for a person. Keep that list in mind — you're about to become that robot's crew.

2
🛠️ Set Up Your Station
~20 min

Head to the pool and find your team's numbered ROV station. Inspect your ROV and materials before you touch anything.

🧰 What's at your station
ROV  •  camera  •  pool noodles  •  tape  •  scissors  •  zip ties  •  1/2" PVC pieces  •  3D-printed hooks / grabbing tools  •  pool challenge objects
Install the camera

Mount the camera carefully and route the wire so nothing pulls on it. Take your time here — this is the part that breaks most easily.

⚠️ Protect the wire

The thin camera wire is fragile. Never pull, stretch, or yank it. Handle it gently every single time you move the ROV.

3
⚖️ Balance It
~20 min

A well-balanced ROV is easy to drive. Your goal is to get it as close to neutrally buoyant as you can — not floating up, not sinking down, but hovering. Watch how it works, then tune yours.

Watch — what neutral buoyancy means

This clip shows the challenge every underwater team faces. Watch it, then use pool noodles, tape, and zip ties to trim your ROV.

Tune it — one change at a time

Put the ROV in the water and watch from the side. Add a little buoyancy if it sinks, take some away if it floats. Change one thing, test, then look again. Small moves beat big ones.

💡 Why it works

Water pushes up on your ROV with a force equal to the weight of the water it shoves aside. Match that push to the ROV's weight and it hovers — the same balance a scuba diver or a fish is always fine-tuning.

4
🔧 Build Your Front Tool
~20 min

Your ROV needs a way to do things, not just look. Use the PVC, zip ties, and 3D-printed parts to build a front tool that helps with the missions ahead.

💡 Tool ideas
  • Hook — for grabbing loops and rings
  • Scoop — for lifting objects off the bottom
  • Push bar — for moving items along
  • Wide catcher — for herding and catching fish
  • Rescue tool — for helping another team's ROV
Attach it tight

Whatever you build, make sure it's fastened tightly — a tool that falls off mid-mission costs you the run. Check it, tug-test it gently, then get ready to drive.

✅ Before you drive — quick check
  • Camera is secure
  • Nobody is pulling the thin camera wire
  • Front tool is attached tightly
  • Looked at the ROV from the side — is it balanced?
  • Plan: test first, then change one thing at a time
5
🎯 Run the Missions
~40 min

Work through the mission list with your team. Do as many as you can, in any order that makes sense. Check each one off as you land it.

Neutral buoyancy — get your ROV as close to hovering as possible
Explore — scout the pool using your camera and your view from the edge
Ring retrieve ×2 — retrieve a dive ring, twice
Move & retrieve — move the ring to a new spot, then go get it again
Bottle recovery — retrieve a weighted plastic bottle
Catch & release — catch 3 fish, bring them to the surface, and return them
Rescue — team up with a neighbor to rescue their ROV
🚀 Keep your team moving
  • If something isn't working, make one small change and test again
  • Switch drivers so everyone gets time on the controls
  • Keep the tether organized so it never snags
  • Watch what the successful teams are doing — then borrow it
🧠 Think Like an Engineer

Engineers don't just build — they stop and ask what's working. With your team, run through these before your next test:

  • What is working well?
  • What needs to change?
  • Is your ROV balanced?
  • Is your tool helping with the challenge?
  • What should your team improve before the next test?
📄 Day 1 Pool Mission Guide
Your printable checklist for the pool — missions, tool ideas, and pre-drive check.
Open the handout →
End of Part 1

You built a crew, balanced a robot, and ran real underwater missions. Next: Part 2 — Tune, Finish & Complete Precision Missions.

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