Okta Putra Setio Ardianto ST MT (right) with ITS Interior Design Department students showing their anti-Covid-19 door handle tool

ITS Campus, ITS News – During the Covid-19 pandemic, we were advised not to directly hold objects in public places, one of which is door handles. Responding to this recommendation, the Interior Science and Technology Lab, Department of Interior Design of the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) succeeded in designing a tool for door handles named Handle.it.

This innovation is intended as a form of community service (Abmas) in minimizing transmission of the virus. Okta Putra Setio Ardianto ST MT, chairman of the ITS Interior Science and Technology Lab Abmas, revealed that the making of Handle.it is an effort to prevent the spread of the virus through droplets from Covid-19 sufferers that are common. This droplet is a liquid that a person expels from the nose or mouth when sneezing, coughing, or even talking. This liquid can stick to objects in public places such as door handles.

According to Okta’s explanation, the design of this door handle tool was developed in such a way that it can be used with the contactless principle. That way, the door can be opened and closed with an arm or elbow without having to be held directly by hand. “A tool for door handles like this already exists in several other countries, but we are developing the design to suit the conditions where the appliance is installed,” he explained.

Not only that but also the making of this door handle tool uses the principle of design thinking by developing new designs from ideas to prototype testing using a 3D printer. The material of this tool is a material that is popularly used for 3D printing, namely solid orange polylactic acid (PLA +) combined with glow in the dark green. “The tool that we make consists of three parts, namely the main handle, marker, and secure lock,” explained the lecturer at the Department of Interior Design.

Visualization of Handle. it, an anti-Covid-19 tool  for door handle created by the ITS Interior Science and Technology Lab

In making anti-Covid-19 door handle accessories, several stages are needed. The first stage is modeling using SketchUp software, after that enter the slicing process or change the object into many parts using the Ultimaker Cura. Then, the next stage is the process of printing the prototype and ends with the process of installing the prototype on the door handle.

Okta also expressed his gratitude to his fellow lecturers and students who are members of the ITS Interior Science and Technology Lab for the success of this tool. It took three weeks for the development process and two months of production for the tool to be applied immediately. “Currently, we have installed Handle.it in the hallway, room access, and toilet areas of the building where Abmas is being held namely the ITS Interior Design Department building,” he said.

The printing process of the Handle.it prototype, an anti-Covid-19 door handle tool

Furthermore, Okta said that in the future Handle.it could be produced larger and more widely applied with more serious production methods if the community needed it. Mainly for public facilities, so that people can easily adapt to new habits during a pandemic. “We hope that Handle.it can effectively reduce the spread of the virus that causes Covid-19, especially in the ITS Interior Design campus,” he concluded. (meg/ris/ITS Public Relations)

An overview of how to use the anti-Covid-19 Handle.it doors accessories by users