Cabrillo College in California announced Tuesday that the Cabrillo Robotics Club recently won first place in the Marine Advanced Technology Education World Championships. The club was tasked with building a Remotely Operated Vehicle capable of executing simulated industry applications, such as observation, inspection and physical tasks in various aquatic environments. They also had to demonstrate the functionality with marketing materials, technical documentation and an engineering presentation. Stephanie L'Heureux, the president of the club, says this is the third consecutive MATE ROV win under the club's belt, but the first time they have won competing in the most advanced category of the competition.Constructing a winning ROV is no easy feat. It took almost a year — 4,500 hours, to be exact — of intensive design, construction, and testing to bring Seahawk II to life. Then, the team headed to Kingsport, Tenn. to compete with 29 teams from 10 different countries in two days of rigorous events. High scores across the board earned them their first-place ranking.With the 2024-2025 season on the horizon, the Cabrillo Robotics Club is looking to challenge itself yet again, taking on a different competition: RoboSub. Rather than building another ROV, the team will design and build an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, that operates without a tether like the ROV does, adding a layer of difficulty to the process. L'Heureux says the club looks forward to next year's competition.