We are building an AUV called the ORCA-XI for the 12th annual AUVSI competition, which will take place July 27-august 2, 2009, at the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center in San Diego, CA.

This year's objectives

1-Maintain a fixed heading through the gate

2-Follow the path: How well did the vehicle find/follow the segments?

3-Fire the flare: Full points for touching the buoys. Partial points are awarded if you track the buoy but you brush by instead of a head on bump.

4-Pass under the barbed wire: Did the vehicle pass under the PVC pipe without touching it?

5-Bombing run: There is only one primary and one secondary target, two markers in either one only counts once.

6-There are two targets of opportunity. Two markers in a single target of opportunity will count twice.

7-Machine Gun Nest: Full points for each torpedo that passes through the square. Partial points are awarded if the torpedo touches a side. Partial points may be awarded if the torpedo passes close to the square.

8-Surface within the Octagon: The sub must fully surface within the octagon to obtain full point value. Partial points may be awarded with judges' discretion.

9-Grabbing the Briefcase: The structure must be captured and constrained by the vehicle to obtain full points. Partial points may be awarded for a partial capture.

10-Time Bonus: At a minimum, a sub must touch the buoy, pass under the barb wire, drop at least one marker “in” the bin (or fire one torpedo through the square), and fully surface within one of the octagons to obtain the time bonus. These tasks can be completed in any order. The time bonus is a calculation of whole minutes remaining plus fractional seconds. For example, with a remaintime of 7:13, a team will receive (7+13/60)*100 = 721.667 points (approximately).