Wentworth Students Excel at MassRobotics Annual Challenge

A team from Wentworth Institute of Technology recently placed third in the MassRobotics Annual University Form & Function Challenge, competing against universities from around the world. 

School of Engineering students Tedi Qafko, Noah DeGrazia, Clayton Easley, Lulya Tesfamicael, and Jonah Velho represented the Wentworth Underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle (WUROV) team, showcasing their amphibious robot that has been in the works since October and attended to by 25 Wentworth students. 

Twelve teams from around the globe were selected to showcase their robotics and automation projects, competing for cash prizes. Rounding out the top three winners with Wentworth were Seoul National University and Harvard University. 

The idea of the challenge was deliberately ambiguous: To create a robot that looks good (Form) and works (Function). Components and software donated by MassRobotics corporate partners helped the student teams utilize the latest and greatest offerings in the industry.  

WUROV team member Qafko (a recent recipient of the Wentworth Bowl award) shared that this week they also attended the New England Regional Competition with the robot, and they qualified for the MATE ROV World Championship Competition happening in June. 

Another Wentworth ROV team competed last year at the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) International ROV Competition in Colorado. 

MassRobotics is the largest independent robotics hub dedicated to accelerating innovation and adoption in the field of robotics. The group’s mission is to help create and scale the next generation of successful global robotics and connected device companies by providing entrepreneurs and innovative robotics and automation startups with the workspace and resources they need to develop, prototype, test and commercialize their products and solutions.