The ITS Barunastra team which won the title of General Champion at the 2022 International Roboboat Competition (IRC) which was held in Florida, United States

ITS Campus, ITS News – The pride of Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS), the Barunastra Team, once again achieved great success on a global scale. In the prestigious annual International Roboboat Competition (IRC) 2022, which was held in Florida, United States, on Sunday (26/6), the ITS Barunastra Team won the General Champion title, this time representing Indonesia offline.

Fatahillah Muhammad Daffa Shodiq, External Relations of the ITS Barunastra Team, said that this is not the first time his team has competed in the ship robot prototype competition. The ITS Barunastra team has participated in the IRC event held by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) since 2016 and has won many awards during its participation. “In 2018 and 2019, Barunastra ITS managed to become the IRC General Champion in a row and won the title of back-to-back champions,” he said.

The ITS Barunastra Team when preparing the Nala Theseus ship to compete in the 2022 International Roboboat Competition (IRC)

In this IRC competition, various world-class universities such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), University of Michigan, Institute Technology de Extudios Superiores de Monterrey, Robotics Association of Embry-Riddle, AGH University of Science and Technology, Tel Aviv University, and many more participated in the IRC competition. In this IRC, each team competed in two sub-races: Design & Documentation and Autonomy Challenge.

Furthermore, the student, often called Fatah, explained that in the Design & Documentation sub-contest, participants were challenged to make a Technical Design Report about the ship they built and a Competition Strategy that was shared on Youtube. “Meanwhile, the Autonomy Challenge sub-race challenges participating vessels to carry out various missions such as Navigation Channel, Avoid the Crowds, Find a Seat at the Show, Snack Run, Skeeball Game, and Water Blast,” he explained.

The Nala Theseus ship designed by the ITS Barunastra Team while carrying out its mission in the Autonomy Challenge sub-contest

The ITS Barunastra team, founded in 2012, won first place in the two sub-races. The ITS Barunastra team is the only team that has successfully completed all missions in the Autonomy Challenge. “That way, the ITS Barunastra Team won the title of General Champion at IRC 2022,” said the Department of Marine Engineering student with pride.

According to Fatah, this success did not escape the innovations developed by the ITS Barunastra Team. With his Nala Theseus ship, Barunastra carries the concept of modularity so that it can accommodate a lot of cargo on board. This concept also has a design principle that divides the system into small parts (modules). “So that it can be modified, replaced, or exchanged independently with other modules,” explained Fatah.

In addition, The Nala Theseus ship’s hull has been made watertight via a technique created by the ITS Barunastra Team to protect the electrical components inside. Fatah stated, “This innovation was created since the ship manufactured by Barunastra ITS had a leak the previous year, resulting in damage to electrical components.

The Nala Theseus ship designed by the ITS Barunastra Team while competing in the 2022 International Roboboat Competition (IRC) which was held in Florida, United States

For innovation in the propulsion, Fatah explained, the Nala Theseus ship uses a holonomic movement system so that the ship can move holonomicly or move without changing the direction of the ship. As for the Design & Documentation sub-competition, Barunastra ITS uses a retro futuristic concept in the video competition strategy. “Not only that, ITS Barunastra combines 3D simulations so that videos are easy to understand,” he added.

Responding to the ITS Barunastra Team’s proud achievements, Fatah hopes this will be the starting point for the development of autonomous ships in Indonesia. “In addition, it is hoped that the name Indonesia will be heard more and more in the international maritime world, as well as the names of ITS, ITS Barunastra and ITS Robotics,” he concluded. (ITS PR)

Reporter: Tyara Novia Andhin