The Zavaleta
The Zavaleta is the name of our ROV this year. The name is a nod to our former mentor, Dan Zavaleta, who retired from teaching after the 2018-2019 school year. Dan Zavaleta led multiple teams to great success, including us. We named our ROV after Mr. Zavaleta because of his great contributions to our team. For a frame of reference, this man was so selfless that he stayed with our team last year till the 2019 NURC Competition, more than a month after the school year had ended. Mr. Zavaleta was mentoring us every weekday from 8am to 4pm during that period, even though he had just gotten married and was officially retired. We truly owe all of our success to this man’s passion for education.
Mr. Zavaleta in "Proud Coach" mode
The "Zavaleta" Frame
The Frame
The frame of The Zavaleta is made from ½ inch PVC pipes and elbows and is about 13.7 inches by 14.4 inches. PVC was chosen as the main building material because it is very strong and lightweight. The octagonal shape of The Zavaleta makes the ROV very maneuverable, sturdy and stable, while it’s small size allows it complete challenges even in cramped situations. The frame is also modular, letting us swap out parts with ease and compete in more than one competition with the same frame. The Zavaleta will have 8 Bluerobotics T100 thrusters, 4 thrusters positioned in vectored positions for horizontal maneuvers and the other 4 positioned for vertical maneuvers. These 8 thrusters will allow us to make precise movements and lift heavy objects. We also will be equipping our ROV with a claw. This claw is made from a waterproof servo and a standard Vex Claw. We opted to use the Vex Claw because it is reliable, easy to modify and strong. Along with the Vex Claw, there will be a hook on the bottom and at the center of mass of the ROV to help us lift a 10 pound weight for the NURC Competition. Finally, The Zavaleta will have a central Bluerobotics 4 inch acrylic assembly, which will house most of our hardware to control the ROV.
