ITS Robotics Team with the trophies they managed to achieve at FIRA RoboWorld Cup 2018, Taiwan.

Taichung, ITS News – After their success in Canada’s RoboCup 2018 and winning as the overall champion in Indonesian Robot Contest (KRI) 2018, this time Institut Teknolgi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) Robotics Team once again won the award at FIRA RoboWorld Cup 2018 in Taiwan . In a competition that lasted for six days and just ended last Sunday (8/12), a total of 19 awards were victoriously brought home by ITS Robotics Team.

Feng Chia University campus in Taichung City, Taiwan, was a silent witness to the continuous victory of ITS Robotics Team which sent their three robotic teams. Ichiro team (legged-robot) in FIRA Humanoid Robot Cup (HuroCup) category, the Iris team (wheeled-robot) in FIRA Roboshot category, and Bayu Caraka Team (flying robot) in FIRA Air category.

It was revealed by the coach of ITS Robotics Team, Muhtadin ST MT, that the preparation for FIRA RoboWorld Cup 2018 was only three weeks. “After the end of KRI in mid July, we immediately prepared ourselves for this contest (FIRA RoboWorld Cup),” Muhtadin said when contacted on Monday (13/8).

All the 19 awards won by ITS Robotics Team was contributed by Ichiro Kidsize Team 1 as the 2nd winner in ‘mini DRC’ and ‘obstacle run’ categories, 1st winner in united soccer, 1st winner in sprint, and 3rd winner in All Round. For Ichiro Kidsize Team 2, they won 2nd place in marathon, 3rd place in obstacle run, 2nd place in united soccer, and 2nd place in sprint.

Meanwhile, Ichiro Adultsizes team also did not want to lose. The seven awards they won were 1st place in marathon, 2nd place in mini DRC, 1st place in obstacle run, 1st place in penalty kick, 2nd place in sprint, 2nd place in weightlifting, and 3rd place in All around. While the Iris Pro Roboshot Team won three trophies, namely the 3rd winner in Localization Challenge, 3rd winner in Obstacle Avoidance Challenge, and 1st Winner in Passing Challenge.

In addition to getting the 19 awards, Ichiro Adultsize Team, who won 2nd place in weightlifting, also managed to get a world record. Until the 23rd FIRA RoboWorld Cup, the weightlifting record for Adultsize class robots is 100 CDs. “When we prepare for the race, we always try to practice with the 100 CDs and turned out, our robot works well,” said Muhtadin.

Therefore, according to this lecturer who taught computer engineering, Ichiro team tried to increase the number of CDs from what was appointed to 130 CDs, thus breaking the world record. “This can be achieved because our large-sized robot (which competes in the Adultsize class) has good stability and we have developed it for two years,” he added.

A number of trophies won by ITS Robotics Team at FIRA RoboWorld Cup 2018 in Taiwan

Although returning home with 19 awards, during the process, the team also encountered some difficulties. Muhtadin said, this year several rules were changed compared to last year. The rules were made more difficult than last year to give challenges to each participant.

“In some competitions, we have difficulty in adjusting to the new rules due to the limited time we have from the tight schedule we have to follow,” he explained.

One rule that was changed is the rule about determining the All Round category. In the previous year, the rules for determining the overall champion were by counting the number of medals at the end of the race, but this year the rules were changed by calculating medals obtained per day.

Two out of the three ITS Robotics Teams are participating in this FIRA RoboWorld Cup competition for the first time. For Iris team, they had difficulty during the match because most robots that competed had a much heavier weight than their Iris robot and many those ‘heavier’ robots used their advantage to push other robots out of the way. As a result, the ‘less heavier’ robots can’t fully compete with other teams.

As for Bayu Caraka team, Muhtadin admitted that their team made a selection error in the sensor that was used, so when the race was on, the sensor they used was not suitable to detect the objects in the race.

Even so, Muhtadin said, the mistakes that occurred will always become a learning experience for future success. ITS Robotics Team still has other goals to achieve. For Ichiro team, they still have a target to become a Robocup champion in Kidsize class, as well as retaining their championship in Teensize class that was previously won in Canada.

“We also have a goal to win the Indonesian Humanoid Robot Contest at national level. For Team Iris and Bayu Caraka, we have a target to improve the robot’s performance in next year’s FIRA Robo World Cup, “Muhtadin said optimistically.

In the end, Muhtadin thanked profusely for the support and prayers from ITS academic community and ITS Student Parents Association (Ikoma) for funding their ITS Robotics team so far. The highest gratitude and appreciation are also addressed to all sponsors who have helped fund the team’s departure to FIRA RoboWorld Cup 2018.

“Not to forget, we also thank Ristekdikti (Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education) for all the opportunities and supports they provided, ITS Robotics Team will also do their best for other contests in the future,” he concluded. (id/ITS Public Relations Officer)

ITS Robotics Team when receiving awards at FIRA RoboWorld Cup 2018 in Taiwan