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Cane Institute Places First at MATE Regional Championship

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Tuesday, May 14, 2024

The Cane Institute for Advanced Technologies within  Florida Atlantic University High School  recently competed in the  MATE ROV Regional Competition SCOUT and RANGER class.

In the Ranger class, FAU High School team, the 'Night Owls', placed first in the state and will head to the  MATE World Championship  in June. The 'Night Owls' won first place in the product demonstration, first in the marketing poster, and second in the team interview.

"MATE helped me enhance my problem-solving skills while focusing on an underwater setting," said Mark Zagha, an 11th-grade student at FAU High School. "This came with some extra challenges and also educated me about the current problems faced by marine engineers and ocean ecosystems."

Four teams (3 RANGER and 1 SCOUT) consisting of 38 FAU High School students participated in this year's competition. This year's MATE missions focused on protecting and restoring ecosystems and biodiversity to unlock ocean-based solutions to climate change. Tasks included:

  • Observing assets for data collection.
  • Reimagining the utility of telecommunication cables.
  • Administering probiotics for diseased coral.
  • Identifying healthy habitats for lake sturgeon.
  • Deploying GO-BGC floats to monitor ocean health.

An FAU High School rookie team, the 'Crab Company,' competed in the SCOUT class and earned first place overall. This class of competition, however, does not advance to the World Championship event. The 'Crab Company' placed first in the marketing poster and first in the team interview.

"I am so proud of all our FAU High students in the MATE ROV program," said Allan Phipps, District STEM Coordinator. "Working on underwater robotics as a small start-up business model blends engineering and entrepreneurship, builds career-ready STEM skills, and embeds research through data-driven design decisions. I look forward to traveling with the team to the MATE World Championship in June so the Cane Institute and the Night Owls can share our team's innovation with the world."

Participating students used their understanding of robotic systems, electricity, sensors, and waterproofing to craft remotely operated vehicles to solve problems based on real-world ocean and climate change scenarios.

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