Backwards and forewords I guess you could say. We have made significant progress in hardware as well as software, however we had a run in with our electronics and have since been repairing a few circuits (stupid water) none the less in the words of Daniel "once bitten twice shy" for every problem we face, our solution insures we shall never see such a catastrophe when it counts. There are many nice pictures here of the vehicle with shrouds and the electronics with a toothbrush (the first sign something aint right!)

Progress - April

Our first test was incredibly successful. We did a seals test in which NO WATER got in! Following the seals test we drove Manta Ray around in the pool. Of course the water was 54 degrees and we naturally never get anything working until it is late and freezing out, but it worked! We successfully Navigated Manta Ray through a sample PVC gate. We are now further than we were last year at the competition, and we certainly intend to continue flying. The second half of may should be equally as productive and we look forward to implementing each successive piece of equipment onto the platform all leading to this year's mission!

We also have a special top five thanks to Nick Gurtler, click here to check it out.

Progress - March

We have PARTS!!! Just yesterday we finally received the long desired speed controller box parts. In addition to this, we have time to work like crazy!!! This weekend we've managed to complete the battery tubes, construct the speed controller box, begin to seal the engines, mount the electronics in the speed controller box, and the real coup de grais was the mounting of the central computer on the internal data rack. As you can see, we've been working like CrAzY!!

Progress - February

This month we prepared and left for the American Nuclear Society's Robotics Convention in Seattle. Manta Ray got to have its first test of flight durability. We are glad to say the parts were surprisingly easy to package in a safe manner and bring along in luggage.

The actual Convention was AWESOME. We saw waterproof robotics as never before. This convention centered upon Nuclear robotics suited for the harsh conditions of radiation, pressure, heat, etc.

A special thanks to Mr. Disapatino for making this incredible opportunity available!

Progress - January

Alright, we have the next load of parts, and are in the process of fully assembling them.

In other news, we've named our new vehicle! Meet Manta Ray! After some quick thinking we agreed upon the name, and will be putting together some new artwork for it.

We'd really like to thank all of our sponsors and especially Amerimade for finally delivering some parts.

Progress - December

After Months and Months of design... Look!! We finally have something. The starts of Mare Equus errr.. Barracuda.... errr... sword fish... well it is yet to be finally named, however it is taking shape.

Below is the C&C machine cutting away our parts.

At the right is Karl Schulze, Chris LaFlash and Daniel Bryant sporting a new smile around our coming vehicle.

Happy New Year People!

Progress - November

Design is progressing well and we now have at least partial drawings of all the major componenets of the sub. We've built some preliminary asthetic design models (below) and have also been busy working on the construction plans. With any luck, we should be in construction by the end of the month. Work on software is also progressing well and a preview of what's to come should be ready in a few weeks.