Natick InvenTeam^TM

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What We're Working on:

     The Natick InvenTeam^TM is working on creating an amphibious, remotely-operated search and rescue vehicle that will aid the MetroWest Dive Team in their efforts. The device will be able to traverse the ice and enter through the same point as the victim to carry out the preliminary search. The purpose of the build is to create a machine applicable to the field of search-and-rescue diving in order to make it safer for the divers and increase the survival rate of drowning victims.

The Purpose:

     The field of search-and-rescue diving is extremely dangerous, and many of the safety protocols take a significant amount of time, increasing the amount of time not only the diver but the victim have to spend in the water. Especially during icy New England winters, the more time spent in the water, the more dire the situation becomes. The remotely-operated-vehicle (ROV) will carry out the preliminary search pattern, keeping the diver from having to endanger themselves and decreasing the total time the target spends in the water. Once the vehicle finds and latches on to its target, the diver can then follow its tether in order to safely locate the victim, decreasing the time spent in the water for both the diver and the victim, and thus increasing the safety and success rates of the dives.

How It Will Work:

    The robot is designed to be able to cross an icy surface and enter the water at the same point as the victim to carry out the preliminary search. In 

order to do so, treads will be mounted on a machine that will carry a smaller ROV across the ice and deposit it into the water. The submersible vehicle will then search beneath the water for the victim, stirring up as little silt as possible, and ideally locating and latching on to its target for the diver to swim to and retrieve.

Click here to view the Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam^TM webpage