Hephaestus Robotics Takes 3rd Place at the 2025 MATE ROV World Championship!
For the second year in a row, our team earned a place on the podium at the MATE ROV World Championship — taking 3rd out of 40 teams from around the world! Only three teams each year get to feel the thrill of crossing that stage, and we couldn’t be prouder to be among them once again.
Locked In and Ready for the Pool Deck
The morning of the Product Demo, we were all nerves and focus. The team loaded up the ROV and headed to the pool deck — the air buzzing with excitement.
On deck stood our dream team:
Blaise, the Research Technician, carefully prepping the 3D camera.
Bennet, our Mission Director, mapping out strategy with laser focus.
Rowan, the Pilot, calm under pressure and ready to fly.
Arthur, the Chief Scientist, surrounded by notes and data at the table.
Matt, the Tool Manager, double-checking every attachment.
Daphne, our Tether Manager, ensuring the ROV’s lifeline stayed tangle-free.
Our first run on Thursday was tough. A faulty power source had us dead in the water — literally. Thankfully, the judges confirmed it was not our fault and granted a do-over for Friday late in the day. We went back to the pits determined to make it count.
Friday: The Big Day
Friday started early, with our Engineering Presentation at 9:15 AM. Each member took the stage to explain our design decisions, technical challenges, and the role they played in bringing our ROV to life.
But soon after, as we prepared to practice the ROV mission tasks in the Alpena community pool, disaster struck — the gripper stopped working. Rowan noticed the issue mid-test, and a quick inspection revealed the servo had failed. What followed was four intense hours of tinkering, troubleshooting, and teamwork. At one point, the only screw holding the servo together broke — but somehow, through pure persistence, lots of hustle, (and maybe a little magic), the repair worked.
We lost all our practice time, but by the time we arrived at the competition pool, we were ready to give it all we had.
A Confident Finish
After our second run, Sophia, our CEO, gathered the team for a debrief. We scored 300 points — and we knew only one team had scored higher, with 305. The sense of pride and relief was unforgettable.
The pressure, the setbacks, the sleepless nights — it all paid off.
Smiles, Science, and Shipwrecks
Between runs, we got a taste of the global community that makes MATE ROV so special.
Rick Rupan, a University of Washington oceanography research scientist, interviewed us live on Twitch (Watch us at timestamp 9:30:41!). The smiles said it all — exhausted but thrilled. We even got some incredible career advice from our presentation judge, who reminded us that the creativity and collaboration we showed are exactly what real-world engineering is all about.
To cap it all off, Sunday brought a NOAA-led tour of the Thunder Bay shipwrecks — complete with a dive! Standing on the deck, staring down into the Great Lakes, we couldn’t help but feel inspired.
What’s Next
We’re already planning for next year for the 2026 Worlds Championship in Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada! — new tools, new code, new challenges.
For now we are focusing on providing free robotics training and mentorship all thanks to our partnership with the Santa Cruz County of Education.
Third place in the world. Two years running. Hephaestus Robotics — forging innovation beneath the waves.
