Glen Ames robotics team Guardians of the Deep to present Deep Blue AI project at FIRST Lego League tournament
By ERIN HOOD
The Glen Ames Senior Public School robotics team, known as 458 Guardians of the Deep, are gearing up to attend the FIRST Lego League (FLL) qualifying tournament on Dec. 7 at David and Mary Thomson Collegiate Institute in Scarborough.
The theme of this tournament is FLL SUBMERGED which focuses on how to explore the ocean better, through science and technology.
The FLL is an international alliance which challenges students from schools around the world to come up with solutions to real-world challenges by using Lego Mindstorms technology. FIRST stands for ‘For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology’.
For this tournament, 458 Guardians of the Deep have teamed up with experts to create a game-changing ocean navigation system known as Deep Blue AI.
Deep Blue AI is a system located on a ship that uses ultrasonic sensors, temperature sensors, hydrophone arrays, and scout bots to provide maximum intel on the ship’s surroundings, such as icebergs. If the sensors detect something in close proximity to the ship, the course will automatically correct itself.
“To put it simply, it’s the eyes and ears of the ship,” said Glen Ames robotics student Captain Grayson F.
Because the team is also judged on a creativity element, they began their presentation with a scene from The Titanic. This scene takes place just after the ship struck the iceberg. The students included this to emphasize that icebergs are still a problem today and to shine light on the importance of being able to navigate the ocean where these icebergs are located.
With Deep Blue AI they are able to increase ocean safety, not only for the ship but for whales as well. “Icebergs aren’t the only obstacle ships are having to deal with. Rising ocean temperatures are pushing whales closer to busy shipping links,” said the team.
“According to USA Today, there have been over 650 incidents of whales attacking ships since 2020,” the team added.
The ultrasonic sensors are used to detect any obstacles that may cause harm to the ship while the temperature sensors detect changes in water temperature. This is important because the closer you are to an iceberg, the warmer the water gets, which makes the glacier start to melt, which will lead to more icebergs in that area. This is also important because whales are attracted to warmer water.
Hydrophone arrays listen for whale sounds. The scout bot, known as Sphero, attracts the whales away from the ship and takes infrared imaging of the whale to determine the species and approximate age of the animal. It also distracts the whale with flashing lights and soothing whale-like sounds.
“Icebergs, whales, they’re hazards. Our project is basically how to stay safe while exploring the ocean,” said the team.
Deep Blue was formed after the students pitched and voted on their individual ideas, ultimately picking the best features of these ideas to include in the final project. Most of these revolved around whales and icebergs, which led them to create Deep Blue AI.
To conclude their presentation, the students performed a remix of Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On.
“Every night with Deep Blue, I see you, I sense you. With ultrasonic echoes, we go on…” sang the team.
458 Guardians of the Deep found inspiration for their name through the Glen Ames mascot, The Guardian. They also found it fitting as this system guards the seas by protecting whales and ships, finding inspiration from the movie Guardians of the Galaxy.
The team has worked more than 200 hours together to bring Deep Blue AI to life and prepare for this Saturday’s (Dec. 7) tournament in hopes of qualifying for provincials at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology in Oshawa on Jan. 19.
The robotics team is coached by Glen Ames teacher Luke Martin and has 10 members. The 458 Guardians of the Deep team members are Grayson F., Jack S., Jack G., Olivia B., Marlowe E., Claire S., Hudson B., Liam B., Thomas F. and Liam M.
