ROV Part 3: Race and Battle Bots
Today you compete. First you race head-to-head from the pool floor — a speed round, then a grab-and-go round. Then it all ends in the Bot Battle: two ROVs, one contested target, and a shoving match for the championship.
When you're head-to-head under pressure, what wins — raw power, or control?
A race is won before it starts. Get your ROV dialed in and know your lane before the first heat.
Re-trim to neutral buoyancy so you don't fight the water. Confirm the camera is secure and the wire runs free. Make sure your front tool is on tight for the grab-and-battle rounds.
Two teams per heat. Set both ROVs on the pool floor at the start line, one per lane. Assign a driver and a tether marshal — the marshal feeds and clears the wire so it never snags.
In the races, drive your course, not the other ROV. Stay in your lane — no ramming or crossing over. Cameras and wires are fragile, and contact ends both teams' runs.
The warm-up round. Pure driving — no grabbing. Just you, your lane, and the fastest clean line to the marker and back.
- Both ROVs start on the floor at the line.
- On "GO," drive to the far marker, round it, and come back.
- First ROV to cross the start line on the return wins the heat.
- Leave your lane or bump the other team and the heat goes to them.
The turn is where races are won and lost. Slow down a hair before the marker, make a tight turn, and power out of it — that beats blasting in and overshooting.
Same head-to-head start, but now you have to grab a target at the far end before you can race home. Speed gets you there; control gets you the grab.
- Both ROVs start on the floor at the line.
- On "GO," race to the far marker where your target is waiting (a fish or a ring).
- Grab it — hook the loop or thread the mesh — and carry it back.
- First to cross the start line with the target in hand wins.
- Drop it on the way? Go back and get it. No target, no win.
Talk while you drive: the driver calls the approach, the marshal keeps the wire clear, the spotter watches the target on camera. The team that communicates lands the grab first.
The grand finale. Two ROVs face off across a center zone with one contested target between them. It's a shoving match — drive in, get under it, and push it to the other team's side.
- A floating ball (or weighted target) sits in the middle of the battle zone. Two teams face off on opposite sides.
- On "GO," push the target with your ROV body or front tool toward the other team's goal line.
- Push it across their line to score a point. First to 2 points, or most points when time's up, wins.
- Winners advance through the bracket to the championship battle.
You push the target, never the other ROV. No ramming, pinning, or flipping the opponent. If two ROVs collide, the referee stops play and resets the target. A cracked camera ends your day — protect the bots.
Come in low and steady and drive through the target, not at it. A high, fast hit bounces off and leaves your camera exposed. Steady pressure moves it; panic pushing doesn't.
Two crowns today. Celebrate both teams:
Best combined record across the Sprint and Retrieve races.
Last team standing in the Bot Battle bracket.
Three days ago your ROV was a kit of parts. Talk it through as a team:
- What's the biggest change you made from Day 1 to today?
- When did going slower actually make you faster — or stronger in the battle?
- If you had one more day, what would you rebuild?
The work you did this week is a real job. People pilot ROVs to inspect bridges and ships, study the deep ocean, and work in places too dangerous for divers — the same tune-it, drive-it, problem-solve loop you just ran, at a professional level.
You built it, balanced it, raced it, and battled it out. Nice work, crew.