The results are in, and the Coast Guard Academy took home “Rookie of the Year” at this year’s Roboboat competition in Florida. Team CGA, comprised of First Class Cadets Edward Ratliff, Sierra Barbee and Ellie Hiigel, built and tested an autonomous boat to showcase in this year’s competition.
“The goal of our project was to demonstrate to the Coast Guard various autonomous capabilities,” said Hiigel. “The Coast Guard does have some autonomous sail boats that they use for data collection. The findings of our project help to augment that research. Additionally, because fully autonomous vessels are so new, we are using our project to help the Coast Guard narrow down policies and procedures regarding autonomous vessels to implement and enforce.”
Team CGA’s autonomous vessel competed in four tasks including Follow the Path, Navigate the Channel, Docking, and Duck Wash. This is the Team’s second year competing. The first year cadets presented a technical rendering of a vessel; this year, they presented the real thing.
“Getting the opportunity to see all the other schools compete and bounce ideas off them was particularly useful for the future development of our boat. The feeling of satisfaction and all our hard work paying off this year by winning ‘Rookie of the Year’ was amazing,” said Ratliff.
Beyond representing the Coast Guard at the competition, Team CGA can see the real applicability of their project to Coast Guard operations, as they all await graduation and becoming commissioned officers this coming May.
“If we were able to collaborate with the Coast Guard’s Program office, working on artificial intelligence supporting safe navigation, our vessel’s output may be able to assist the program with additional data points to support navigate-safely programing,” said Barbee.
“I want to apply the skills I gain to make a positive impact. Whether it’s working on innovative projects like Roboboat or being part of a flight crew, I’m excited to contribute and experience different aspects of the Coast Guard after I graduate. Being part of the RoboBoat competition has pushed me to dive into challenges head on and trust in myself and my team knowing that we will succeed,” said Hiigel.
