Friday, August 11, 2006; Posted: 3:13 p.m. EDT (19:13 GMT)
SAN DIEGO, California (AP) -- Facing an exodus of institutional brain power as baby-boomer scientists retire, the Navy is turning to a younger pool of talent for its underwater robotics program.
As part of the effort, college students were recently invited to build robots that could perform a series of tasks without human control in a 38-foot deep research pool. The culmination, last weekend's International Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Competition, was a sink-or-swim contest.
The robots were required to swim through a gate, find and dock with a flashing light box, locate and tag a cracked pipeline, then home in on an acoustic beacon and resurface in a designated recovery zone. Top prize was $7,000 and serious bragging rights.
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