Head of the Vertical Take Off Landing (VTOL) division of Bayucaraka ITS Muhammad Hilmi Rusdiansyah when explaining the work system of the four drones namely Jati Sigma, Jati Theta, Soerongarep and Soeromburi.

ITS Campus, ITS News – The Bayucaraka team at Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) has launched four new flying robots to compete internationally. In its inaugural launch in the courtyard of the ITS Robotics Center Building, Friday (3/15), the Bayucaraka ITS team is ready to win the 2024 Singapore Amazing Flying Machine Competition (SAFMC).

Representing the ITS Rector, ITS Vice Rector I for Academic and Student Affairs Prof. Dr. Ir Adi Soeprijanto MT gave a speech while encouraging the team that will compete in Singapore. He said that the hegemony of the robotics world should be held by ITS as one of the best engineering universities in Indonesia. “Although accompanied by many challenges, this struggle will later etch ink in history,” he said enthusiastically.

In this grand launching event, two pairs of robots in the form of drones were unveiled to compete in two competition categories. In the Semi-autonomous (D1) category, which has a remote control mission using a remote, two twin drones named Jati Sigma and Jati Theta were launched. Furthermore, two other drones named Soerongarep and Soeromburi were launched to fight in the Autonomous (D2) category with the mission of controlling the drone autonomously.

ITS Vice Chancellor I Prof. Dr. Ir Adi Soeprijanto MT gave a speech at the grand launching and release of the ITS Bayucaraka Team which will compete in Singapore.

One of the programmers from the Bayucaraka ITS team Achmad Iqbal Akbari explained that each drone has a different focus. Jati Sigma and Jati Theta focus on the ease and agility of the pilot when controlling it with the remote. On the other hand, Soerongarep and Soeromburi are designed to move to complete their autonomous missions with the help of a small computer, the NVIDIA Jetson Nano.

The student who is familiarly called Iqbal also described the novelty brought by his team to the four robots. He explained that the drones in the D1 category are equipped with a wearable remote that can control two drones at once. “We also developed a program that can detect the path automatically on the drone for category D2,” he continued.

Bayucaraka ITS team during a test flight of drones that will be competed in the D1 category, Jati Sigma and Jati Theta.

SAFMC 2024 is a prestigious event organized by DSO National Laboratories and Science Centre Singapore with the Singapore Ministry of Defense. Its reputation in the international arena encourages the Bayucaraka ITS team to prepare its work as well as possible. “We have been preparing since about four to five months ago, of course accompanied by an evaluation of the results of the competition in the previous year,” said Iqbal.

Furthermore, Iqbal said that his team will send a delegation of seven students to attend the Singapore Science Center on March 20-21, 2024. One of the Bayucaraka ITS team supervisors, Dr. Rudy Dikairono ST MT, will also accompany the competition in the Lion Country. “We send representatives from all divisions, namely mechanical, electrical, programming, and official,” explained the student of the Department of Electrical Engineering ITS.

The Jati Sigma drone in its test flight at the ITS Robotics Building

In this SAFMC 2024 event, the Bayucaraka ITS Team set a target to bring home the Best International Team trophy for the D1 category and first place for the D2 category. According to Iqbal, his team is more optimistic to excel by sending a total of two drones in one category with more efficient system optimization.

Finally, in addition to asking for support before leaving for Singapore, the Bayucaraka ITS Team also hopes that its work can inspire other students to continue to innovate. “I hope the drones and technology we have developed can provide enthusiasm and pride and become an inspiration that flows to the wider community,” said Iqbal. (ITS PR)

Reporter: Putu Calista Arthanti Dewi

Translator: Niza H Z R