ROCHELLE — Hydrodynamics, circuitry, and soldering are just some of the things students in the HUB Project are learning in the ROV club, an underwater robotics club.

The ROV club of nine students meets each week in Vic Worthington’s technology lab at Rochelle Middle School where they are being introduced to some real life engineering applications and robotics technology through a program sponsored by the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.

Underwater robotics is more commonly known as ROV, or Remotely Operated Vehicle, which is a tethered mobile robot designed for aquatic work.

When kids are introduced to the robotics field at a young age, it is thought to help foster creativity and problem solving skills — simply by allowing the students to experiment with the robotics and discover what they can accomplish. Most can agree that introducing this technology is not only educational, but is also fun.

“The program will be mostly tied into the Hub Project, but we’re also looking for ways to do some elements during the school day with HUB ROV club kids mentoring classmates into some robotics and related activities, such as soldering, PVC modeling, and possibly coding.”

The Shedd Aquarium’s programs help introduce the STEM principles (science, technology, engineering, and math) through a hands-on approach by students to develop an ROV. In the spring, the HUB Project students will get to test their creation at the annual Shedd Midwest Regional Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) ROV competition.

Over the next several months the ROV club will accomplish several tasks that include designing the motor shrouds, assembling the control box, installing the camera and wire circuitry, and testing their designs.

In March the group will put the finishing touches and conduct practice trials before the competition in April.

3D connection

Last year Worthington and a group of students helped design and print a 3D prosthetic arm for local farmer Jake Hubbard. The entire 3D project began after the school district received three grants, both from Farmers Insurance and Monsanto.

Now, Hubbard has offered to donate a small water tank or horse trough for the club to test their ROVs in.

Last week the club worked at assembling the skeleton of the ROV, which consists of PVC piping and fittings. Worthington instructed the students on soldering techniques.

“It was amazing watching them form a cohesive group dynamic and start assembling the ROV frame with absolutely no prior knowledge of any of this stuff and minimal direction from me,” Worthington said. “I’m incredibly excited about working with these kids on this project.”