An American high school robotics team has developed the Murex Ethernet Switch – which it claims is the “world’s smallest and cheapest networking switch”.

Murex Robotics is the underwater robotics team at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire. In designing its machines, the team looks for parts that balance performance and affordability.

Last year, that included an Ethernet switch for an underwater ROV set to compete in the MATE ROV World Championship. But when commercial solutions proved too expensive, the team set out to design one itself.

“Initially, this seemed crazy: we do not have any technical guidance or support from our teachers or club advisors, and tackling a piece of closed source technology would further mean a lack of resources,” Max Liu, electrical engineering lead on the Murex Robotics team, told All3DP. “But after learning various concepts from whitepapers and YouTube videos, honing our PCB design skills on several other projects, and scouring for components and sample schematics over last summer, we were more than determined to give this a shot.”

The result is the Murex Ethernet Switch, or “mrxSwitch” for short. It features a five-port, unmanaged Ethernet switch capable of speeds of up to 100 Mbps, external magnetics, and a four-layer PCB. It’s also fully waterproof (perhaps obviously, as it is designed to work underwater).

The need for such tech is due to the two IP cameras, a powerline communication module, and a carrier board – all of which are connected. The mrxSwitch, then, “handles everything in a compact footprint”, the team said in an Instagram comment.