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for obvious things like sharp edges, ex- posed wires, loose connections.? Next they take a more technical view looking at wiring harnesses, pressure canisters, fuses and more. Teams are docked 10 points if they receive a safety violation and they are given a chance to correct the problem. That doesn?t mean prob- lems don?t develop during the competi- tion, and the staff is vigilant. The team from Mansoura University in Egypt, whose vessel escaped the rough treatment of security authorities, none-theless suffered some shipping dam- age and failed their initial safety check. They forfeited their  rst run on day one to resolve the problems. When they re- turned to the pool on day two for their last chance, a bright spark and an un-pleasant arcing sound, followed quickly by a puff of smoke, brought safety of-  cials running to the station. The team was disquali ed before their vessel saw water. Disqualifying a team is the hard- est part of the job according to safety judge Leah Hebert. ?You have to do it for everybody?s safety,? especially with the trifecta of danger signs; sparks, smoke and that unmistakable ?ffttzzz.? Hebert understands the dangers better than most. As the  rst female ROV pilot in the world, she brings the highest level of professional  eld experience to the competition and serves as an admired role model to the young women inter- ested in the marine technology  eld. Her employer, Oceaneering, supports Hebert?s involvement with the MATE center. Next year the  nals will be held in Thunder Bay, Michigan, hometown of that team of sixth graders. Dozens of teams and hundreds of future mariners around the world are eagerly awaiting MATE?s November mission announce- ment so they can start inventing the next generation of ROV?s. For more information on the MATE center and the ROV competition, check out their website.www.marinetech.org/ rov-competition-2 ROVs Tasks to complete at the MATE ROV competition included unlocking latches, opening a hatch door, placing a large object into a barely larger space, then closing and relocking the hatch. Extra points were gained for remov- ing simulated sea life fouling the exterior of the station. Teams were allotted 15 minutes to accomplish their Þ ve tasks and to simulate real-world conditions, the pilots observed operations on monitors with the vessel?s own onboard cameras providing the feed. Photo: Kathleen Gleaves Photo: Kathleen Gleaves Step One: Open the hatch Step Two: Pick up the payload September 201370 MTRMTR #7 (66-81).indd 70MTR #7 (66-81).indd 708/23/2013 9:11:03 AM8/23/2013 9:11:03 AM