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38 MTR March 2006 ing one of four bins in the pipeline. The third task is to home in on an acoustic beacon and breech within a sur- face zone marked on the surface with floats. These three tasks can be completed in any order. A random order light box will be positioned just outside the gate and will be used to signify which of the four bins from Station B to drop markers in.

Each vehicle will have 15 minutes to complete the tasks (with and additional 5 minutes of dock preparation time).

Any vehicle that touches the docking station, places at least one marker in the bin or on the target area and has the vehicle surface (at least briefly) fully within the recov- ery zone (no part outside the zone) will receive bonus points proportional to the unused time. Each vehicle must begin the run by passing under a validation gate. At any time during the run, if a vehicle breaches the surface, the run is terminated. For the 9th International AUV

Competition, each entry must fit within a six-foot long, by three-foot wide, by three-foot high "box" ( 1.83 m x 0.91 m x 0.91 m ). To enter the competition and to learn much, much more, check out this web site. http://www.auvsi.org/competitions/water.cfm

If you want a job in robotic engineering, the best thing to do is to join one of these competitions. Corporate sponsors such as Lockheed, Boeing and EG&G arrive in force to nab the best, brightest and the most motivated students. There have been at least seven students hired directly out of earlier competitions and so many receive incredibly useful hands on experience. These kids are not out partying every night. They live for the thrill of solving the most complex problem sets. They lust after smaller power supplies and tighter tolerances. These guys and gals are so hip they are in fact rocket scientists. You automati- cally feel smarter just sitting next to them. 2005 Standings

First Place University of Florida

Second Ecole de Technologie Superieure

Third MIT

Fourth Duke University

Fifth Amador Valley High School

Sixth University of Rhode Island

Seventh University of Southern California

Eighth Cornell University

Ninth University of Colorado at Denver

Tenth Southern Polytechnic State University

Eleventh University of Texas at Dallas

Twelfth Georgia Tech - Marine Robotics Society

Thirteenth University of Central Florida

Fourteenth Virginia Tech

Fifteenth University of Ottawa

Sixteenth University of Victoria

Seventeenth DeVry

Eighteenth North Carolina State University

Nineteenth Indian Underwater Robotics Society

Top: Amador Valley High School AUV2005 Design Team (photo credit: HW Edwards Co.)

Bottom: Amador Valley High School 2005 AUV placed 5th in the 2005 AUV competition.

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