RoboSub 2024 Team Stories – Kennesaw State University
From Christine Newell
Communications Coordinator, RoboNation
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA – The week of RoboSub in Irvine saw unusually hot temperatures, with the weather reaching 85°-89°F. Despite the heat, teams remained focused, working and networking as they collaborated and got to know each other. This year, the competition took place at a new venue, the Woollett Aquatics Center, which proved to be an ideal location for hosting the underwater competition. The venue comfortably accommodated over 500 students, staff, volunteers, sponsors, exhibitors, and visitors, offering the perfect environment for connection and learning.
The competition showcased the vibrant culture of the RoboNation community—strong, collaborative, passionate, and motivated, while still fun. We were fortunate to speak with several team members and hear their stories. In the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing six interviews from various RoboSub teams, and we’re excited for you to meet them!
Kennesaw State University – Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Team
RoboNation had the chance to sit down with Sam Obhi, President of Kennesaw State University’s Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) team, during the competition. Sam kicked off the conversation by proudly showcasing the team’s yellow Hawaiian shirt, a fun collaboration with their media lead, highlighting their team spirit. The Kennesaw State AUV team consists of undergraduate students pursuing degrees in Mechanical, Electrical, Computer, and Mechatronic Engineering. Let’s dive into Sam’s journey and experience!
Name: Sam Obhi
Team Name: Kennesaw State University, Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Team | Marietta, Georgia, USA
How did you get into robotics?
“I was helping out ROV instead of AUV, they’re a type of version. A buddy of mine at Kennesaw at our AUV team, pulled me in, I met him in one of our classes and was like ‘hey you should definitely join.’ And so last year, we were going back and forth between ROV and AUV, but our team pretty much stuck with AUV this time around.”
What are you pursuing on your educational journey?
“I’m going to school for Mechanical Engineering at Kennesaw. One of the things I really love – one of the things I wanted to get from the team was getting to build the physical sub; so I got to help out with the welding of the frame, assembling, and everything. My background is also in machining, so I got the machine parts for the sub. So that’s what really drew me in was building the physical sub.”
From the previous year, what were the things that you overcame? Any lessons you learned from last year that you applied this year.
“I think having other people’s perspective on the team definitely helps from a design standpoint, because I’ve definitely worked with our mechanical lead for our team. We’ve really sat down and asked our team members like ‘hey what did we want from our sub design this year? Did everyone have any ideas of what we can incorporate?’ so definitely working as a team, asking for opinions and other perspectives.”
What did you take away from this experience?
“I feel like this is a personal thing, but just to have fun, that’s the most important thing. We’re here in a high stressed environment already, everyone is already going a little crazy, just stressed out so, working as a team we need to bounce on each other, and we can have that sense of friendship. I really love my guys, so we really rely on one another, so if we’re ever stressed out, not to take it too seriously and just help out each other whenever we can.”
What are your future goals for the team and for yourself personally?
“Team wise, since we took two years off from RoboSub, so this is pretty much our first year coming back so everything is done from scratch. Coming back with a new team has been an experience in itself, we’re just getting our new members up to date, and learning how RoboSub works and what improvements we can make for our future subs and stuff. And, interacting with teams like ‘Hey what works, what doesn’t work, and what things can we collaborate on?’ For personal wise, I’m a junior right now, so I have a year maybe a year and a half left, so I’m looking forward to passing the torch for my team as the president, like leading everyone and how our team can be self-sufficient without me, but also be here as an advisor but I think it’s time to pass down the torch and finish my college degree and get into the industry.”
Thank you, Sam, for taking the time to speak to us during RoboSub! We can’t wait to see you back at RoboSub 2025!
Team Website: https://ksuauv.com
Instagram: ksu.auv
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ksuauvteam
