- (crowd chattering) - [Narrator] These students are competing in a regional underwater robotics competition called MATE ROV.

- So, it'll be net pCO2, and then next.

- [Narrator] It takes place every spring in Newport.

Throughout the school year, they design and build remotely operated vehicles to take on other teams.

- [Narrator] The top team earns a spot at the World Championship, facing competitors from across the globe.

(bubbles burbling) (door clacking) - Good morning!

- Morning.

- [Narrator] Building these robots can take months, with most of the work happening after school and on weekends.

- You guys need to do it ... - Five teams from Warrenton are competing this year.

They're all coached by Heidi Lent.

- [Heidi] And that's everybody, so we can start whenever.

- So, I'm running into issues writing our theme.

- I love making things and building things and then bringing really fun things to the kids to learn.

All the coding that we do, the 3D printing, Tinkercad, if I can teach them those skills, they will definitely be more employable than the kids that aren't in a STEM-related class or elective like this.

- [Narrator] The goal of the program is to turn classroom lessons in math, science, and engineering into hands-on experience building underwater robots to complete real-world tasks.

The most experienced team is made up of four high schoolers and one middle schooler.

They call themselves "The Rays".

- This is our competition ROV.

R-O-V stands for remotely operated vehicle.

This is a marine-side one, so it's meant to go in the water.

These are actually industrial claws we have to buy from the company Blue Robotics, that they actually use these exact claws on real-world situations such as, like, coral.

This is our AI unit, we call it Marv.

It's kind of like our assistant going underwater.

These are our two navigation cameras.

You have to have all the different angles you want or need, and it's all streamed onto a laptop that you control with an Xbox controller.

- [Narrator] These students have some extra help, a former Boeing engineer who volunteers as a mentor.

- Can regulate itself.

I worked at the Boeing company for 42 years and mostly worked in robotics and automation.

Essentially, I'm just a technical guy that helps out however I need to.

- I can give them time and I can give them my passion, but what I can't do is I can't figure out all the robotics that he's had so many years of experience with.

So having him is the reason we are at the level we're at with these kids.

- [Narrator] That level has led to a stocked trophy case just outside Heidi's classroom, an impressive accomplishment considering Warrenton is far from affluent.

- The Warrenton School District is one of the least-funded school districts, probably, in Oregon.

So, when I first started here, they didn't have a lot of equipment.

They didn't have a lot of background in computing or robots.

So, when the opportunity came along to help Heidi with technology, that was right up my alley.

- There we go.

(tarp crinkling) (machine beeping) - [Narrator] Despite limited funding, Heidi's focused on keeping Warrenton at the top of the standings in Newport.

- Every year, I'd take another team.

And we started with one, we got third place.

We went with two the next year, we got second and third.

The next year, I took three teams, we got first, second, and third.

- I think it's because I put, like, that lock in.

- I'm a competitor, and I want to share that with the kids.

Where the canister is the main machine, and ... - [Narrator] Each week, the team heads to Seaside for an hour of hands-on practice in an actual pool.

So, right now, we're shaking the machine out to clear any little bubbles, you can see around here, to make sure that the machine has the proper buoyancy when we send it on our mission.

- Arming ROV.

- Arming, okay.

- All right.

- [Narrator] In the professional world, ROVs are used for deep sea mapping and exploration like this one, which is helping scientists study submarine volcanoes.

It's the kind of career these students can work towards, and success in the competition helps open those doors.

(music) - So, maybe float here, machine here.

Lay it out, check everything, make sure it works.

- [Narrator] 19 teams are competing this year with students ranging from elementary through high school.

They compete across three levels.

Scout is the beginner tier, Navigators in the middle, and Ranger is the most advanced.

The Rays are competing at the Ranger level.

- Yeah, basically like a map.

So right now, everyone's just going around looking at all the other teams.

Basically sizing up the competition is what most people are doing right now.

- [Narrator] The Sea Bunnies are one of five teams from Warrenton.

They're competing at the Navigator level.

- The ocean is practically in our backyard, so we wanna, like, make machines to help, like, learn about that stuff.

And so maybe when we're older, we can take on one of those jobs and, like, try and find a sustainable future for ourselves.

- So are you guys using any fluid power?

- Hydraulic.

- Hydraulic.

- Hydraulic?

- So we're like one of, like, the only public schools here.

We have the smallest team compared to that team over there.

I mean, they have probably about 15 kids total.

We have five.

We're making something better than theirs with less people, less resources.

That's why they're kind of just like- - Well, we don't know if it's better until we compete.

- [Narrator] Every team faces the same set of underwater challenges, earning points for each task they complete.

They get two chances, and only the best score counts.

- All right, let's lower it down.

- Why is that camera not running?

Oh, it's angled off.

- So, it's offset, so it's like rotated right now.

- [Narrator] Unexpected technical issues are forcing them to make a tough choice: leave some tasks unfinished and sacrifice points or risk valuable time trying to fix the problem?

- So, I'm going to make a change in plans.

I'm going to move the hydrophone over.

- Can we get partial points?

- It's not, you know, normal.

- You have five minutes, guys.

- Okay, Owen, are we ready for photosphere or no?

- Huh?

- Photosphere, no?

- I need to actually ... - Two minutes!

- I don't know if I can flip it.

Oh, so it's locked?

That's not good.

- You didn't happen to record that by any chance?

- What?

- Do your sample.

(crowd chattering) - So bad.

- All right!

- This, as we got down there, things just weren't going right.

We overestimated our team's ability to a point, not the machine.

And then we just had issues with memorizing certain tasks.

I'm a little bit nervous for sure.

I mean, like I said, after what we just did, it's anyone's game at that point.

We ran all on the photosphere the second round.

- Make sure to stay confident but still remain productive.

I don't wanna see anyone sitting there doing nothing.

We all have a role here, okay?

- So, for some reason, the temperature is like right now, negative 127?

- For the ROV temperature?

- Temperature, yes, negative 127.

- [Announcer] The answer is negative 138.

- Huh?

- It doesn't hold.

It won't hold, it's too loose.

You got this, Jannat?

- Okay, open a little bit.

Okay, try it.

Figures!

- That water sample... - All right, here we go, guys.

300 points this run, 300.

- Don't quote us on that.

- Really, really, really ready?

- Yeah.

- All right, go.

(water sloshing) (crowd chattering) - So I'm taking down the pCO2.

- That appears to be fully in the square.

- Yes?

Okay.

- I'm gonna attempt to maneuver that with the smart plug to get ... - (The Rays chattering) - Time?

- That was time, done.

- We're doing everything ... - Hi, good job.

You really had it together.

- Yep.

- Did good, really good job.

- Thank you!

- So, I wanna start off by saying thank you all so much for joining us for the 2025 MATE Oregon Regional ROV Competition.

(crowd applauding) - [Narrator] The Sea Bunnies fell short of placing this year.

- It's not about if you win or you lose, all it really matters is that you learn from your mistakes, you get some education, and you can always try again in the future.

- [Narrator] But The Rays scored enough points to give them a chance at first place.

- For the Ranger teams, this is the one level that is able to advance to the World Championship.

We're gonna start with second place though.

Our second place will be, the winner is Valor Maritime from Valor Christian School.

(crowd cheering) - [Narrator] It's easy to see these students as just kids at a competition, but they're the next generation of scientists, engineers, and innovators helping to shape a better world.

- It really just shows you what it's like to be part of a team and how to work with other people.

It gives you an opportunity to make your imagination come to life.

- [Announcer] And with a total of 385 points are The Rays!

(crowd applauding and cheering) (music) (no audio)