The Amador Valley Robotics Club is a team of high-school students building an autonomous submarine to compete at RoboSub, an elite underwater robotics competition.

We are AVBotz

AVBotz is a team of forty-two Amador Valley High School students from Pleasanton, California. We compete with collegiate teams in the AUVSI International RoboSub Competition in San Diego every August. See more about the RoboSub Competition.

Since 2000, we have perpetuated a legacy of problem solving and independent learning; the team is recognized nationally as the best performing high-school team in the competition. We had the highest scoring run at RoboSub 2015, and placed 7th overall, beating Cornell, IIT Bombay, and 28 other universities.

At AVBotz, we use the highly competitive environment of RoboSub to engage members in approaching engineering challenges & developing organizational skills. We stay in tune with our values of curiosity, ambition, improvement, and teamwork as we further underwater exploration technologies.

1999

Founding Year

42

Student Members

4

Subdivisions

18

RoboSub Competitions Attended

5

Vehicles Built

40+

Years of Combined RoboSub Experience

Team Subdivisions

AVBotz is split into four subdivisions: Mechanical, Electrical, Software, and Business. Each subdivision is described in detail below.

Mechanical

Mechanical team members are responsible for designing and manufacturing the physical structure of the submarine. This year, they will be improving the submarine, using 3D CAD, finite element analysis, CNC machining, 3D printing, and more. Mechanical recruits should be able to solve physical problems creatively and be willing to work with their hands as well as their computers.

Mechanical Overview

Electrical

Electrical team members are responsible for designing and maintaining the electrical infrastructure of the submarine. This year, electrical will be improving the current system, which includes incorporating new sensors and boards. Electrical recruits should be interested in learning design principles of circuitry and capable of handling complex systems with many integrated components.

Electrical Overview

Software

Software team members are responsible for writing all code for the submarine. Most of the code is algorithms for vision processing, digital signal processing, and mission control. This year, they will be writing code to integrate new hardware, accomplish the torpedoes task, modelling the competition course, and modularizing mission control architecture, as well as improving the efficacy of existing code. Software recruits should have prior programming experience.

Software Overview

Business

Business team members are responsible for raising funds, creating a positive public image, and organizing outreach projects. This year, they will be presenting sponsorship pitches to companies around the Bay Area, writing emails and calling potential sponsors, and networking at outreach venues like fairs and meetups. Business recruits should feel comfortable meeting strangers and presenting during high-pressure situations, have good writing skills, and be eager to take initiative on their own projects.

Business Overview

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