Maryland
Underwater Robot Competition Makes a Splash
![Underwater Robot Competition Makes a Splash Underwater Robot Competition Makes a Splash](https://today.umd.edu/uploads/hero/_1200x630_crop_center-center_82_none/RoboSub_07292022_SC_9065_1920x1080.jpg?mtime=1659121671)
Regardless of the distinct scent of chlorine and roped-off lanes on the Eppley Recreation Heart, the scholar groups huddled alongside the perimeters of the pool aren’t right here for any peculiar swim meet.
As a substitute, a bundle of wires, propellers and sensors glides underneath the water, however doesn’t fairly make it to the hovering gate in entrance of it or the opposite surrounding obstacles. A diver in flippers and a snorkel has to seize it and hook it as much as a small crane to floor.
It’s all a part of the 25th working of RoboSub, a global competitors that challenges pupil groups to design and construct robotic submarines—also called autonomous underwater automobiles (AUVs)—that may full a sequence of duties whereas submerged. Robotics @ Maryland, the College of Maryland’s workforce, is amongst 39 teams collaborating by means of Tuesday. After happening for a number of years in San Diego after which shifting on-line throughout COVID-19, the annual occasion is being held for the primary time at UMD.
“It’s been very thrilling to host,” stated Dillon Capalongo ’24, Robotics @ Maryland’s mechanical lead. “Everybody who’s been serving to volunteer has been supporting us, saying, ‘Go Terps! That is our college!’”
UMD has positioned extremely within the competitors previously, together with successful it in 2008. This yr marks the workforce’s RoboSub return for the reason that pandemic started, and its robotic, Qubo, is taking the plunge.
Qubo, which debuted within the 2017 competitors, is smaller, extra cell and extra modular than its predecessor, Tortuga IV, Capalongo stated. Tweaks over time have additional streamlined the bot, with the workforce—round 30 Terps from a wide range of majors—growing and training with it within the Impartial Buoyancy Analysis Facility, the one such tank on the planet on a school campus.
From left, Josh Smith, Mustafa Khan and Rainier Hood re-solder a free tether connection on their robotic, Qubo, within the Impartial Buoyancy Analysis Facility on Friday earlier than their qualifying spherical.
The Terps have loved their home-field benefit, Capalongo stated. Earlier than delving into the qualifying rounds, which wrap up Saturday, they hopped over to the tank on Friday to re-solder and take a look at a free tether connection.
To advance to the semifinals, which start Sunday, AUVs should acknowledge and cross by means of a gate within the water. Subsequent, groups should showcase their robots’ abilities by means of a sequence of duties, together with recognizing pictures on buoys, dropping markers into bins and firing torpedoes by means of a goal. (This yr’s contest is Roaring Twenties-themed, so bootlegger and G-man icons run rampant all through the underwater course.)
“The principle factor is that the second your robotic surfaces, the run is over,” stated Rainier Hood, Robotics @ Maryland electrical lead. “It’s a must to ensure you’re not breaching in the midst of your run.” And human creators can’t intrude with the bots as soon as they’re within the water.
Groups—which embody powerhouses like Carnegie Mellon College, the College of Alberta and the Nationwide College of Singapore—huddled round laptops, carted round tools and examined their tech at Eppley on Friday. Bringing collectively budding engineers from around the globe in such competitions is “improbable from the standpoint of engineering schooling,” stated Dave Akin, Robotics @ Maryland workforce advisor and affiliate professor of aerospace engineering. The hands-on expertise mimics real-world methods used for underwater exploration, seafloor mapping and extra.
“Consider it this manner,” he tells college students. “When the time comes that you’re interviewing in your first job, you’re not going to be caught saying, ‘Effectively, I took this course and I took that course.’ You possibly can say, ‘I constructed a robotic and competed with it underwater.’”
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Maryland
University of Maryland reverses decision to allow anti-Israel protest on October 7
The University of Maryland on Sunday reversed its decision to allow an anti-Israel protest on the first anniversary of the October 7 Massacre, following backlash from local Jewish groups.
UMD Students for Justice in Palestine and UMD Jewish Voice for Peace had been set to hold their October 7 vigil for Gazans killed in the Israel-Hamas War at the campus’s Mckeldin Mall, but the University System of Maryland (USM) said in a statement that on the day of the Hamas-led pogrom it would limit campus events requiring permits or approval to those supporting “a university-sponsored Day of Dialogue.”
“From the beginning of the war, we have come together as a University System to urge that we use this moment to encourage conversation, compassion, and civility; to engage with one another across our differences and draw on our shared humanity and our shared values to bridge what divides us,” said USM. “These dialogues aren’t new. Many of our universities have been hosting this kind of programming for several months. Reserving Oct. 7 gives us a chance to continue these urgent conversations and to mark this solemn anniversary in a way that gives students—all students—the time and space to share and to be heard.”
USM said that its intent was not to infringe of the free expression and speech of students, but to be sensitive to the needs of students as October 7 was a “day of enormous suffering and grief for many in our campus communities.”
UMD Jewish Student Union, Maryland Hillel, Terps for Israel, and Israeli American Council Mishelanu at Maryland welcomed the USM decision and thanked UMD leadership in a joint social media statement on Sunday.
“October 7, the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, is a day of mourning for the Jewish and Israeli community,” said the UMD JSU. “We are relieved that SJP will no longer to be able to appropriate the suffering of our family and friends to fit their false and dangerous narrative.”
The Jewish groups said that it was distraught that the decision to only hold university-sponsored event had to be made at all, and wished to used the campus space to “grieve together as a community” to promote unity at the university. The unideal situation was necessary, according to the Jewish groups, to ensure the physical and psychological safety of students on the day of mourning.
UMD JVP and SJP attacked the decision to cancel the event, claiming that the vigil for Palestinians killed since the October 7 Massacre was attacked without familiarity of the content. The anti-Israel groups said that the discourse was “the continuation inherently racist, Islamophobic, and dehumanizing rhetoric surrounding Palestinians.” JVP and SJP said that the actions against their event were an attempt to paint “Muslim, Arab, and anti-Zionist Jewish students as barbaric.”
The anti-Israel groups asserted that their vigil for Palestinians who died in the war was no threat to the campus’s Jewish community, but conflation of Zionism and Judaism did threaten UMD and the Jewish community.
“To claim that Palestinians cannot hold a day of remembrance in mourning one year of genocide, or lay claim to that date is an insult to every life lost in the Zionist entity’s genocidal campaign,” UMD SJP and JVP said on Instagram on Sunday. “The disproportionate scale of suffering experienced by the Palestinians over the past year necessitates their remembrance and our solidarity on this day. The suffering of all innocents killed must not be monopolized and necessitates a fair and just representation.”
SJP and JVP demanded the right to organize and exercise their right to free speech, accusing Zionists of attempting to stifle Palestinian voices.
The organizations indicated on their Sunday Instagram post that they still planned to hold their all-day event at Mckeldin Mall, and on Monday a link to register still active and listing the campus building as the rally location.
UMD Jewish groups said that they would be holding their own event to memorialize the victims of the October 7 pogrom at the Maryland Hillel.
Maryland
Sunshine for your Labor Day in Maryland
![Sunshine for your Labor Day in Maryland Sunshine for your Labor Day in Maryland](https://assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2024/09/02/44f70b16-36c5-418b-a083-913b44ccccef/thumbnail/1200x630/35894c49deb7bc01bace1597e72e5c6f/354a4da6cd4b544ff5da5921dfff7e33.jpg?v=25685eaa472b1a5dbb5bd46ae506d232)
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Maryland
Michigan State Has Several Things to Fix Before Heading to Maryland
![Michigan State Has Several Things to Fix Before Heading to Maryland Michigan State Has Several Things to Fix Before Heading to Maryland](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_4622,h_2599,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/spartan_nation/01j6q3dyp4hhn9f949m6.jpg)
Michigan State’s football team emerged with a 16-10 win against Florida Atlantic, but it was far from a convincing victory. The Spartans struggled throughout the game, exhibiting a range of issues that need immediate attention if they hope to find more consistent success moving forward.
With less than a week to prepare for its next opponent, Michigan State has a critical opportunity to address these shortcomings and refine its game plan.
The win over FAU exposed several areas of concern for Michigan State, particularly on offense. The Spartans were plagued by poor execution and missed opportunities, with several drives stalling due to penalties and miscues. The offensive line, in particular, struggled to establish a rhythm, which led to limited success in both the running and passing games.
Quarterback play from Aidan Chiles was inconsistent, with errant throws and a lack of cohesion with the receiving corps contributing to the team’s inability to sustain drives and put the game away early.
Defensively, Michigan State managed to hold FAU to just 10 points, but there were still some worrying signs. Despite the Spartans having multiple interceptions and a safety, they gave up several big plays, revealing potential vulnerabilities in the secondary and raising concerns about the unit’s ability to maintain discipline and focus throughout the game. Missed tackles and lapses in coverage could prove costly against more formidable opponents, making it imperative for the coaching staff to address these issues in the coming week.
Special teams were another area where Michigan State faltered. On multiple occasions, the Spartans gave up more punt return yards than they should have because of missed tackles.
With less than a week before its next game, Michigan State has a valuable window to regroup and make the necessary adjustments. The coaching staff will need to focus on tightening up execution across all phases of the game — offense, defense and special teams. This includes refining the game plan, improving communication and instilling a greater sense of urgency and discipline among the players.
The Spartans cannot afford to let the issues that plagued them against FAU carry over into their matchup against Maryland. If they hope to be competitive as the season progresses, the team must use this time to correct course and demonstrate growth in all facets of its game.
Don’t forget to follow the official Spartan Nation Page on Facebook Spartan Nation WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE, and be a part of our vibrant community group Go Green Go White as well WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.
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