[goldenglove002]

One of the things team 1311 works on is our Applied Robotics for Marine Sustainability (ARMS) program. It's turned into a year round effort, but it started as just an off-season project.

A few years ago we started building a ROV to pick up trash from lakes and streams. It took a little while to pick up, but eventually expanded into a massive effort.

This year we started building a ROV to collect oil from shallow marine estuaries (inspired by the oil spill in the gulf last year). We applied for and were awarded the Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams grant to fund the project.

ARMS is more than just about building robots. It's a great way to get the attention and communicate to the public the value of STEM education and FIRST. Remember, one of the main goals of FIRST is to transform our culture into one where science and technology is celebrated. If your work outside of the competition can grab the attention of more than just everyone on chiefdelphi, then you are well on your way towards helping accomplish this goal.