The Cornell Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Team is proud to announce the release of it's new website. This website was developed by both the public relations and information technology sub-teams and brings a new look to CUAUV's home on the internet.

To mark the end of a successful and productive semester, CUAUV had a barbecue in Upson Lounge.  In addition to team members, advisors and support staff were also present.  Pictured above is team member Henry Mason.

The team's new AUV Xing shirts have arrived!  Pictured above is the back side of the shirt.  The front of the shirt has the CUAUV name and logo.  T-shirts can be purchased for $10.

As the date for the competition draws nearer, new parts for Triton have been arriving in the lab. Team members Peter Sullivan, James Mwaura, and Kirill Kalinichev proudly display the 2008 competition vehicle.

For the past three weeks, CUAUV has conducted pool at tests at Cornell's Teagle Hall. Software and sealing tests have been successfully conducted on the 2007 Competition Vehicle Proteus.

About 80 local girl scouts came to Cornell University on March 1, 2008, to earn their “Science in Action” Badge.  The event, led by CUAUV, was the second annual outreach program organized by the group.  The girls rotated through five stations to complete badge requirements.  In Emergency Services, the scouts learned about fire safety and emergency evacuation plans.  Engineering 101 allowed the girls to explore a website and to talk to engineers on the team to find out what a career in engineering is all about.  In Got to Communicate, the troops learned about various kinds of communication and they also got to make their own phones.  In addition, the girl scouts had the opportunity to see the CUAUV lab in the Upson ELL during the Science in Manufacturing station.  At the end of the event, all 80 girls and their troop leaders were brought into the Phillips Lounge to complete the fifth and final station – Bridge Building.  The girls were given a stack of newspaper and a roll of scotch tape; their task – to work together in small groups to build the tallest structure possible.  By the end of the day, all 80 girls had completed the five stations, earned their “Science in Action” badge, and learned much more about science and engineering.  As for the team, they can’t wait to have this event again next year!

CUAUV participated in the on campus event Bits on Our Minds (BOOM). BOOM is an annual research conference that showcases student efforts and creativity in digital technology and applications. At the event the CUAUV team displayed parts of their new vehicle.  Team members were also on hand to describe the vehicle and talk about the team.  In addition, there was a demonstration running where BOOM visitors could see first-hand how the vehicle’s vision system works.  Visitors also had the opportunity to friend last year’s competition vehicle, Proteus T. Automaton, on Facebook.  The event was held on February 27th in Duffield Atrium. Participation was open to all Cornell students, and community members.

CUAUV's new vehicle this year will be named Triton.  Triton is the mythological son of the Greek god of the sea, Poseidon, and he is known as the messenger of the deep.  He is often pictured with a twisted conch shell on which he blew, like a trumpet, to calm or raise the waves.

Much to the amusement to the local press, our software team of Henry Mason and Nick Elser (above) donned their Lawrence of San Diego headwear (which might be hotel towels) in order to read their laptop screens in the sunshine of TRANSDEC. We were also required to keep the electronics rack protected from blowing dirt. Fortunately, Henry and Nick were able to continue polishing their lines of code that control the Proteus during our pool tests today. The mission software was able to track the optical beacons on the buoys, identify and hover over marker bins, grab the treasure, and surface with it in the recovery zone. Check back soon for more media from today's testing.

Henry Mason joined the team in San Diego this morning, bringing our total crew to 12 and filling out the software segment of the competition team.

Above, he (at left) works with fellow software guru Nick Elser (at right) on the Proteus' mission logic in our hotel. The vehicle's central computer, Eddy, is ready to direct further vehicle testing. There were tense moments at the pool last night when Eddy's memory got wet, but after drying out for several hours, Eddy is working again.