Independent Seattle high school team earns first Pacific Northwest podium since 2015

SEATTLE, WA, UNITED STATES, July 28, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Seattle’s Triton Robotics, an independent high school underwater robotics team, finished second overall among 40 teams from around the world at the 2026 MATE ROV World Championship, and first place for its Marketing Display. The result marks the Pacific Northwest’s first podium finish since 2015 and just its second since the competition began in 2002.

The seven team members are all rising seniors who attend Seattle Academy. The team competes independently, fully responsible for the design, engineering, fabrication, coding, documentation, marketing, and presentation of their remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and vertically profiling float—all while balancing demanding academic and extracurricular schedules.

The international competition established mission requirements based on underwater challenges relevant to the host region and evaluated teams on engineering design, mission performance, technical documentation, marketing, safety, and their ability to explain and defend their design decisions before judges. This year, challenges that highlighted the needs of the maritime industry in Newfoundland included inspecting and servicing offshore infrastructure, collecting scientific data, manipulating underwater equipment with precision, and responding to simulated engineering challenges under time pressure.

Fritz Stahr, MATE ROV PNW co-chair and CTO at Open Ocean Robotics shared, “I’ve watched Triton Robotics compete over multiple MATE seasons at both the local and championship level and two things stand out - they never stop experimenting, and they’re good at it! Their 2nd-place finish at this year's World Championships marks the Pacific Northwest’s highest podium finish since 2015 and was a proud moment for us all. And with our region hosting next year’s World Championship, it’s exciting to see the momentum building here - we can’t wait to welcome teams from around the world in 2027!”

Triton Robotics is grateful to the MATE ROV Competition, the judges, volunteers, sponsors, and host community in St. John’s for creating a welcoming international competition. The team also extends heartfelt thanks to the Seattle community, families, and sponsors who made the season possible. Access to a pool was an especially valuable contribution, allowing the team to test, fail, adjust, and improve its robots.

About Triton Robotics
Triton Robotics is an independent high school underwater robotics team based in Seattle, Washington. The seven-member team competes in the MATE ROV Competition, an international engineering program that challenges students to solve real-world underwater problems using student-designed remotely operated vehicles. Although every member attends Seattle Academy, Triton Robotics is an independent, student-run team that is not affiliated with a school program and does not use a mentor. This video demonstrates the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) at the competition.

Simon Hajduk and Theo Lipson
Triton Robotics
+1 206-800-9016
tritonroboticspress@gmail.com
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