Pittsburgh Regional SeaPerch

​Vehicle Compliance​

• SeaPerch ROVs must complete a safety and maneuverability compliance check during check-in.

• Teams cannot compete unless their ROV is approved prior to the team competing in the pool events.

• A budget summary form must be submitted at checkin

• Only two team members are permitted at Compliance stations. 

 

Triage 

• ROVs may be worked on by team members during the competition at the triage station.

• Coaches, teachers, mentors, and parents may not assist in triage.

• The triage station is equipped with common hand tools.

• Teams may bring additional spare parts and tools to use at the triage station.

• Triage is to be utilized for repairs and not for building the ROV.

• Triage staff may be available to assist with minor repairs.

Pool Access 

• Only two team members are allowed on the pool deck in the competition area during an event. 

• Coaches, teachers, mentors, and parents are not permitted on the pool deck during competition events. 

• Team members must wear shoes with rubber soles on the pool deck. 

• Each team should bring their own fully charged battery to the pool. 

 

Vehicle Design Rules

High School Class and Middle School Class

• Teams may utilize materials contained in the stock SeaPerch kit.

• Teams are encouraged to optimize the design of their SeaPerch ROV.

• Teams have a $25 modification budget.

  • Donated material will be assessed at what the cost would be to procure the material.

  • The $25 limit is for cost of the materials utilized on the final competition vehicle and does not include costs associated with intermediate designs.

  • Replacement of failed components ( motors / control box ) are not included in this budget. 

  • The budget summary form must be submitted at checkin.

  • 3D printed parts will be costed out at $0.05 per gram.

  • ROV frames may not be 3D printed. 

• Frame built using only PVC, CPVC, PEX pipe and fittings. Any size pipes and pipe fittings may be used. Pipes and pipe fittings may be modified using hand and power tools, but may not be machined using CNC or other automated process.

• Hooks and attachments MAY NOT be added/removed between competition rounds, but may be repositioned.

• Teams may only utilize three (3) thrusters. 

  • Teams may only utilize stock SeaPerch motors for propulsion (Jameco Electronics P/N 232022).

  • Additional non-stock motors may be utilized for actuation or other non-propulsion uses.

  • A thruster is defined as a means of propulsion for the SeaPerch, normally but not limited to a motor and propeller assembly.

• Teams will design for and utilize a 12-volt 7Ah Sealed Lead Acid Rechargeable Battery as power source.

  • Power source other than the included kit battery or venue supplied power is not permitted.

  • Over charging or stacking batteries is not allowed.

• ROV thruster controls shall use simple switches only, no power conditioning or pulse-width modulation (PWM) controls are allowed in Stock Class.  

  • Must only use simple on/off switches for thruster controls

  • Use of a fixed or variable resistor to reduce voltage is acceptable.

Open Stock Class

• The cost of modifications may exceed $25.

• Frame may include 3D printed or additive manufactured parts as well as other materials, and may be made using CNC machinery or other automated process.

• May include more than 3 thrusters (i.e., motor and propeller assembly).

• May use power conditioning or pulse-width modulation (PWM) controls for thruster controls.

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Redress, Challenges and Disputes

• Should a protest or dispute occur during a team's obstacle course or challenge course run, it is the intent to resolve the grievance at the time it occurs.  Concerns must be made to the lane judge before the team leaves the pool area.  The lane judge and lead judge will hear the team’s concerns and then discuss a resolution amongst themselves, which will be communicated to the team by the lead judge.  The ruling by the lead judge shall be final.

  Coaches, teachers, mentors, parents, or other team members may not approach the lead judge on the pool deck regarding any perceived issues.

• In the event that a vehicle is inadvertently interfered with during a competition, or a malfunction of a vehicle's parts (i.e., the motor) occurs that is beyond the design and construction, the lead pool judge will have the sole authority to provide the team with time to fix their vehicle and to allow them to compete later in the round. Malfunctions will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

• Teams may not question the legality of other competing vehicles.  It is the SeaPerch Technical Director's role to determine if vehicles meet the entry and compliance requirements.

• Sportsmanship is expected at all times.

• Unsportsmanlike conduct is grounds for the disqualification of a team. Team members and advisors are responsible for the conduct of all members and adults accompanying the team.

 

Scoring

Individual Events

• Each event will be scored in accordance with its published rubric. Teams will then be ranked by their score within their class.

  • Rubric for Obstacle Course

  • Rubric for Challenge Course

  • Rubric for Technical Report

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Combined Scores

• Each team's rank in the individual events will be added together and then ranked in order to determine the overall winner in each Class of competition.  For example, if nine teams are competing as shown in the table below, Team 2 got a score of 96 on their Notebook, which was 1st place.  Their Obstacle course time of 123.9 seconds placed 7th in that event, and their Challenge course score of 78 placed 3rd.  The sum of their event rankings is 1 + 3 + 7 = 11, which means Team 2 would finish in 3rd place after Team 5 and Team 8.

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Breaking Ties

• Scoring ties will only be broken where it is required to determine 1st - 3rd places. (i.e., ties will not be broken when ties do not affect the top three results in any event or class overall)

• Obstacle Course ties to the 100th of a second will be broken by the faster time in the secondary run.

• Challenge ties to the 100th of a second to the same point total will be broken by rerunning a portion of the course. The winner will have 1/100th of a second removed from their time, thus breaking the tie.

• Class ties will be broken based upon the best performance in the following priority:

1) Challenge

2) Technical Report 

3) Obstacle

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Awards

• Awards will be presented to the top teams in each Class (Middle School, High School, Open) for each event.

• The top Middle School team, High School team, Open Class team, plus the next top finisher among all competing teams advances to the International SeaPerch Competition on May 31 - June 1, 2025 at the University of Maryland.

• Only one team from a school or organization may advance to the International Competition from a given competition Class (Middle School, High School, Open).

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