ITS representatives and ITS partners when symbolizing the launch of an autonomous ship innovation prototype on the shores of Bozem Kodiklatal, Surabaya

ITS Campus, ITS News – Continuing to spread its wings, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) collaborated with Robo Marine Indonesia (RMI) and the Naval Technology College (STTAL) to launch another autonomous technology innovation in unmanned ship products, Wednesday (13/12) . This ship will later become a multifunctional tool to support various aspects in the Indonesian maritime sector.

Autonomous Modular Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) Hydrooceanography, is a renewable ship innovation made by ITS and RMI. One of its functions is to map ocean conditions in Indonesia. ITS’s expertise in developing electronic automation and navigation technology, coupled with RMI’s fabrication capabilities in creating ship hulls, can produce this sophisticated ship innovation product.

Chief Research Officer from ITS Dr Rudy Dikairono ST MT explained that the autonomous ship he launched with a team of students from the Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka (MBKM) program had been equipped with a multi-obstacle sensing path planning system. “Equipped with lasers and cameras allows this ship to detect objects and map the environment in real time,” he explained.

The ITS MBKM team is assembling an autonomous ship prototype at the test location

The lecturer at the Department of Electrical Engineering added that autonomous ship technology will focus on areas around the coast. Rudy also revealed that this coastal area is more difficult to reach by large survey vessels because the area tends to be shallow and wavy. “This will be our market in the future, ships that can reach shallow areas such as coastal areas,” he explained.

Apart from that, added Rudy, with the collaboration with STTAL, this innovative product can later be used for defense and security needs by the Indonesian Navy (TNI AL). Suprayitno SSi MMT, Head of the Bachelor of Electrical Engineering Study Program at STTAL, said, “The autonomous working system of this ship is very possible to be applied to various types of military equipment for maritime security.”

Prototype autonomous modular Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) Hydrooceanography vessel made by ITS and RMI during trials on the Kodiklatal bozem, Surabaya

This ship has the potential to be operated by the Indonesian Navy’s Hydro-Oceanographic Center (Pushidrosal) as the only Indonesian Navy agency tasked with providing data regarding water conditions in Indonesia. “With their function related to oceanography, of course these tools can help Pushidrosal’s work,” said the man who is often called Prayit.

It is hoped that this autonomous ship can become a commercial product through the RMI industrial market and also the STTAL defense market. “We have done a lot of technological development, but until it becomes a product, we will continue to work on it,” concluded Rudy, who is also the supervisor of the Barunastra and Bayucaraka ITS robotics teams. (ITS Public Relation)

Reporter: Muhammad Rizky Putra Wahyuana