Local students build their own underwater robots

NORTH PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Local middle school students designed and built their own underwater remotely operated vehicles, or ROVs, and on Friday they put them to the test.

More than 600 students took part in the 2017 Greater Philadelphia "SeaPerch Challenge."

Their ROVs had to go through an underwater obstacle course and then onto a pipeline repair mission.

This challenge taught the students how to build a propulsion system, how to develop a controller and how to investigate weight and buoyancy.

This is the second year the event was hosted by Temple University.