SEA
HUMAN-POWERED SUBMARINE
EST . 1991
IT ’ S NOT FOR THE CLAUSTROPHOBIC : Imagine donning an oxygen mask , squeezing into a flooded capsule barely bigger than your body and pedaling your heart out through an underwater race course . For the 20-plus students involved in the human-powered submarine ( HPS ) competition , this is what they live for every year .
MEMBERS
About two dozen students divided into four subteams : Propulsion , Steering , Human- Submarine Interface and Simulations ( analyses of mechanical parts for efficiency ). Last year , they tripled the size of the team , with four more scuba-certified students able to pilot the craft .
PROVING GROUND
Tritons are mainstays at the annual U . S . International Submarine Races in Maryland , and in 2018 qualified for the European International Submarine Races in England . The competitions involve a 100-meter straightaway test for speed , while a slalom course through buoys tests how the steering and propulsion systems interact .
THE CREW AND THE CRAFT Above : A schematic look at what goes on inside the sub . Bottom : Team members try out Vaquita ’ s unique dolphin-inspired tail in
UC San Diego ’ s Canyonview Pool . Inset : Student members of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers ( ASME ) pose with Vaquita , the submarine they built in 2018 and raced at the European
International Submarine Races in England .
32 TRITON | WINTER
2020