Student Autonomous Underwater Challenge - Europe (SAUC-E) 2009
Student Autonomous Underwater Competition - Europe (SAUC-E) 2009
Eight university teams from across Europe competed at the QinetiQ Ocean Basin Tank with vehicles they had designed and built themselves at the fourth annual SAUC-E competition, the third time it had been held in the UK.
Following four days of practice and qualifying, the top 4 teams qualified for the final on Friday with the remaining four teams entering into the ‘Plate Competition’ that was held in the practice pool. The final competition involved the teams attempting to complete the hardest SAUC-E course to date, with the docking box providing a huge challenge to the teams. For the first time, the teams that did not qualify for the final on the Friday competed in their own competition in the practice pool. Although the teams’ positions for the main event were based on a variety of criteria, including a presentation and technical journal, it was decided that the plate final would be contested on the performance in the pool alone.
Results table
| Award | Team | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 1st
(£3,000 sponsored by BAE) |
Heriot-Watt | Nessie was a strong contender all week. Returning for the 4th year with a vehicle modified from previous competitions. The outstanding performer in the final with docking. The team has raised the bar for next year’s competition. |
| 2nd
(£2,000 sponsored by Thales) |
ENSIETA | The master at navigating the gates, this was the only team to successfully avoid the middle gate all week. Limited by its dependence on Sonar the AUV struggled to complete the tasks that relied on vision, such as tracking the ball and docking in the box, however excelled on wall survey and the gates. |
| 3rd | Bremen | The first team to use a laser for detection, it tracked the moving ball with ease all week. Limited by its lack of a sonar meant wall survey was near impossible. The vehicle performed admirably in the final completing both the gates and ball following in one autonomous run, especially impressive after a sudden pressure sensor failure at the start of the final run threatened to end their competition. |
| 4th | Southampton | Performed well in practice and qualifying before a technical glitch ruin any chances of success in the final. With the vehicle unable to boot up for the first 45 minutes of the hour long final slot, the team did well to salvage some pride with a late run through the gates. |
| 1st (Plate Final) | Bath | Returning with yet another different design the Bath University team shot to success with a run through the gates on the final day, after a close contest with Luebeck, they were awarded winner of ‘Plate Competition’ after successfully avoiding the middle gate. |
| 2nd | Luebeck | Hand-made thrusters and a simple design; this was an impressive debut for the German team. Narrowly missing out on ‘Plate Competition’ winners place the team navigated all of the gates successfully. The team shows great promise for future competitions. |
| =3rd | UWE | A new entrant for this year’s competition, UWE showed exceptional promise. With just months to construct their vehicle and with a limited budget the team did extremely well. Although the vehicle struggled when autonomous, on a tether it showed great speed and control. After only having a 1ft deep testing pool during construction the team held their breath as their vehicle stayed watertight on a last minute dive to 6m. Definitely a contender in future competitions. |
| =3rd | Cambridge | An elegant design, the Cambridge entry struggled with keeping watertight. The modular and lightweight design of the vehicle showed great thought and invention, unfortunately could not demonstrate its capability because of ongoing leaks. |
The SALT prize (£2,000) for Innovation awarded to: Luebeck.
The BBC were in attendance during the week and reported on the competition:
In association with:
Supported by:
