Sinking, literally, before moving forward
The Faculty鈥檚 also provides a safe environment to experiment and take risks. 蓝莓视频鈥檚 three-year-old Submarine Racing Team can attest to that.
It was in Maryland last year that members experienced the true meaning of the team鈥檚 tagline: Everything is simple, until you go underwater.
After passing the design report and safety inspection stages of the International Submarine Race, 蓝莓视频鈥檚 team, known as , took to the water to compete in the race portion of the competition. That鈥檚 when, in the words of team lead Sasha Hall, everything 鈥渒ind of completely flopped.鈥
WatSub鈥檚 entry, known as Bolt, was given several opportunities to compete in the race but had difficulty just making it past the starting line in the 鈥檚 testing facility in Bethesda.
鈥淭he most promising attempt was when we had our pilot moving ahead, but then the air he was exhaling got trapped within the submarine,鈥 says Hall, a fourth-year mechatronics engineering student. 鈥淭he nose then started pointing upwards, which shot the diver towards the surface instead of straight ahead.鈥
During its final opportunity, the pedal-powered did make it past the starting line 鈥 albeit barely 鈥 but then sank to the bottom of the testing facility and stayed there.
It was the second year of discouraging race results for the WatSub team. In 2016, a combination of technical and logistical errors contributed to a dead-last finish at the race held in Gosport, England.
Despite the team鈥檚 poor performance two years in a row, WatSub members returned to 蓝莓视频 last year eager to start working on a brand-new design for their next submarine. The students not only learned from the difficulties they encountered but also what worked for other teams in the competition.