Teams vie for underwater robot prize

At the edge of a vast indoor tank, a team of university students watches intensely as a robotic vehicle attempts to negotiate an underwater obstacle course. The box-shaped robot, held in place within an outer frame, has been designed by a team from Heriot Watt University in Scotland. It is designed to complete a series of challenging tasks: passing through a gate without touching any part of the structure, following a moving target, hovering over a stationary target and “parking” in a box.