Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 12/12/2008 - 05:27
Forums
Antarctic Undersea ROV 08

Hello Cameo and Stacy,

Our class is writing a grant to make a scini, we were wondering what tips you might have for making ours like scini, we want it thin to.

Thanks, 

New Start Middle School

Fri, 12/12/2008 - 17:04

Cameo Slaybaugh

Hi New Start Middle School -
It is great that you all want to make your own ROV.  It is actually a bit harder to make a skinny SCINI.  The best thing to do is use PVC pipe and propellar thrusters.  You can play around with the design of the ROV and try to make it as skinny as possible.  It is my understanding that the smallest it can be is 5 iniches wide because of the propellars.  I am planning to have my students build a new and better ROV in the spring.  Perhaps, we can collaborate.
Let me know what you guys decide to do and thanks for writing.
 
Cameo :) 

Mon, 12/15/2008 - 17:02

Stacy Kim

Hi New Starters!
I have a question for YOU - why do you want your ROV to be thin?  We made ours thin so that she would fit through a small hole in the ice, as that is much easier to drill than a large hole in the ice and we want to see what lives under the ice.  But there are lots of problems that come along with being thin that we have had to work hard to overcome, like SCINI is more challenging to drive and it takes a really funny shaped box to store and protect her.  I suggest that you start by deciding what you want to do with your ROV - if you want to fit into narrow places, then thin is what you want, but if you have a larger space to explore, then a more stable shape will give you a vehicle that is easier to drive and maneuver.  That is why most ROVs are sort of box-shaped - it is an easy shape to move in any direction.  You can design and engineer anything - starting from what you want to do with it!