QAST students develop underwater robots

A group of students from Qatar Academy for Science and Technology (QAST) have built underwater robots with guidance from an expert from Texas A&M University at Qatar (Tamuq).

Using the skills they have learned in the classroom and applying them to real-world problems and overseen by the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) expert from Tamuq, the students learned about the engineering principles of remotely operated vehicles (ROV), including design, fabrication, and operation. The project also showed students that if built on a bigger scale, ROVs could be used to protect marine life, inspect underwater pipelines, and explore shipwrecks.QAST students will represent Qatar in the 2022 International SeaPerch Challenge in June 2022, allowing participants to learn about robotics, engineering, science, and mathematics while building an underwater ROV.Dr Mohamed Gharib, a specialist in STEM education at Tamuq – a Qatar Foundation (QF) partner university – said: “I am pleased to develop the underwater robotics programme for young students. This will engage the students in developing solutions for real-life challenges and inspire them to seek STEM disciplines at university.”Dr Gharib said that the students built ROVs that could search for marine animals stuck in fishing nets, with the intention of taking them out of the water, treating them, and then releasing them back into the water. “The students also created ROVs that monitor underwater pipelines to check the presence of rust and cracks in order to predict the possibility of oil spills,” he explained.According to Dr Gharib, while ROVs are already being used globally, he hopes the project will help promote creativity among the students, showing them how simple and inexpensive tools can be used to engineer solutions to global challenges.“This activity helps students put the skills they have learned in school to practise, and also provides them with an insight into studying engineering at university.”The partnership between Tamuq and QAST – part of QF’s Pre-University Education – started in 2018, and together the entities aim to provide simplified lessons and courses in different fields of engineering.Dr Gharib said: “Through the cooperation between Tamuq and QAST, we aim to help students learn about various fields of engineering from an early age and explore solutions to the environmental challenges facing the Qatar and the wider world.”Ahmad al-Mansoor, Innovation Centre teacher at QAST, said: “The main objective of this activity is to show that the skills that students acquire at QAST are not isolated from reality. They can apply what they’ve learned in science classes to building robots, and at the same time, they’ve studied the basics of engineering, including how an engineer thinks and the tools they use.”Al-Mansoor noted that through activities such as robot building, the school hopes the students will learn about their strengths, and what they can achieve. These initiatives, he said, also serve as an opportunity to equip young people with specific tools that can be applied to other projects.Aya Khodr, a grade eight student at QAST, said: “I like the collaboration between our school and Tamuq, as it allows us to learn and dig deeper into the field of engineering and apply what we have studied in our academic classes to real-life projects.”Samir Shabaneh, another grade eight student at QAST, added: “It was a very interesting and useful experience, and it helped us apply what we learned in school as it is closely related to our curriculum. These activities help us to learn about new things – and pick up new skills – in a fun way.”