BBC News video Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8143541.stm
Eight university teams from across Europe competed at the QinetiQ Ocean Basin Tank with vehicles they had designed and built themselves at the fourth annual SAUC-E competition, the third time it had been held in the UK.
Following four days of practice and qualifying, the top 4 teams qualified for the final on Friday with the remaining four teams entering into the ‘Plate Competition’ that was held in the practice pool. The final competition involved the teams attempting to complete the hardest SAUC-E course to date, with the docking box providing a huge challenge to the teams. For the first time, the teams that did not qualify for the final on the Friday competed in their own competition in the practice pool. Although the teams’ positions for the main event were based on a variety of criteria, including a presentation and technical journal, it was decided that the plate final would be contested on the performance in the pool alone.
DSTL Review:
“A new entrant for this year’s competition, UWE showed exceptional promise. With just months to construct their vehicle and with a limited budget the team did extremely well. Although the vehicle struggled when autonomous, on a tether it showed great speed and control. After only having a 1ft deep testing pool during construction the team held their breath as their vehicle stayed watertight on a last minute dive to 6m. Definitely a contender in future competitions.”