Partnerships & Philanthropy

Aggies Excel At ABS SMART Robotic Competition

The competition drew a crowd of participants, students, faculty, staff and other supporters

The Texas A&M University College of Engineering’s Department of Ocean Engineering and American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) Laboratory of Ocean Innovation hosted the 2025 ABS Sea Aggie Marine Automation and Robotics Technology (SMART) Robotic Competition on April 25, 2025. The annual competition is an interdisciplinary exercise focused on robotics in the coastal and marine environments.

“This competition started as a way for students across the Galveston campus to share their love for the oceans by learning to develop robotics to explore our ocean environment sustainably,” said Dr. Paul Koola, an ocean engineering professor. “Student interest has grown over the years. The small-campus Galveston environment has helped students across departments collaborate and communicate to bring their designs to fruition.” 

The annual competition featured small student teams from the Department of Ocean Engineering and the College of Marine Sciences and Maritime Studies academic departments. Teams consisted of four to six members and were required to include at least two freshmen engineering students, one ocean engineering student and one student from any other department. Eight teams entered the competition, five of which made it to the final event. 

Each of these teams designed and built an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV). This year’s event was more challenging than previous events, with competitors attempting autonomous waypoint navigation to test each USV’s ability to navigate independently to preset locations. 

The competition encompasses multidisciplinary technologies and encourages students to explore ongoing developments in marine robotics and the blue economy. 

“One competition criterion was having teams with members across at least three different departments,” said Koola. “Education through these extracurricular activities complements the theory students learn in classrooms.” He continued, “ABS has generously funded this competition for the last two years, and we look forward to increasing its complexity and scope. Such local events set our students on a path to competitively participating in national and international competitions.” 

Prizes were awarded in multiple categories based on a variety of metrics. Congratulations to the winning teams!

Start to Finish Speed: 

The Tiki Squad 

• Jared Cason
• Carson O’Pry
• Kristopher Bridgewater
• Jonathan Celis
• Landon Moore
• Madilyn Murray

ART in SMART – Aesthetics and Innovation: 

Storm Reapers

• Mateo Mosquera
• Aimen Kidari
• Emilia Sosa
• Sofia McGreger
• Medha Kandimalla
• Caleb Durr

Video Production of Design Progress :

Aqua Innovators

• Javad Foroughi
• Dariush Ilami
• Imran Hossain Newton
• Jace Dodson
• Masaki Maruo
• Tyson Doss

 Maneuverability: 

Glacier

• Issac Martinez
• Eleanor LaVire
• Samantha Smitherman
• Derby Thompson
• Cameron Lovejoy
• Camden Blackson

 Aqua Innovators

• Javad Foroughi
• Dariush Ilami
• Imran Hossain Newton
• Jace Dodson
• Masaki Maruo
• Tyson Doss