Students from Bandung Institute of Technology have gained recognition for winning first place at a recent Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Design Competition.
According to a recent press release, the drone design competition aimed to advance the world of aviation technology, particularly its utilisation during disasters in Indonesia.
Boosting Indonesia’s disaster recovery capabilities
This is to address the growing need for increased disaster evacuations efforts in the country, especially since several disasters have recently occurred.
Indonesia has been bombarded with many disasters. Even worse, the evacuation process would sometimes be hampered, causing delay.
The critical period in an evacuation process is usually the first 72 hours because the possibility of humans surviving is still very high and so delays should be avoided or minimised.
Students from all over Indonesia participated in the event. The team from the University presented their UAV concept, which they named FE-012 Flying Evacuator and UAV Path Finder.
This team is composed of two students from Aerospace Engineering 2016 and one from Engineering Physics 2016.
Capabilities of the UAV
Aiming to improve the efficiency of disaster evacuation, the mission of the UAV that they developed included pathfinding evacuation, body searching, and live monitoring.
It utilises light detection and ranging (LIDAR), advanced positioning and thermal camera.
LIDAR is a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of pulsed laser to measure ranges to the Earth. It provides the UAV the capability to map the contours of the Earth’s surface.
The advanced positioning feature, meanwhile, is a fusion of sensor and algorithms in order to determine the position of victims without the need to rely on GPS satellites.
The thermal camera feature is useful in detecting victims that have been buried under the rubble caused by the disaster.
The 3D mapping produced by the UAV will identify the location where help is needed. Users can use this information to optimise the deployment of human resources to the areas where they can help.
IoT’s potential in Indonesia
In other news, a Professor at the University described the potential of the Internet of Things (IoT) in Indonesia as enormous.
Prof. Dr. Ir. Suhono Harso Supangkat M. Eng., Professor at the Information Technology KK, School of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, explained that there are a number of components in the development of IoT that are very influential.
First among the components are the humans. According to him, the rapid or slow development of IoT in Indonesia is influenced by the quality of human resources and how capable they are of supporting its development.
The second component is technology. This component includes how objects such as sensors, cloud, platforms, and robots, among others, are connected through certain protocols and algorithms.
The third component is governance, which includes regulations, business models, and role development between each party interested in IoT development in Indonesia.
Earlier this year, the Internet of Things and Future Digital Economy Laboratory was inaugurated to encourage innovation and progress in the field of digital economy, especially in the era of Industry 4.0.
The Lab aims to become an IoT market space, with activities that include research and providing workshops or training in IoT.
OpenGov Asia reported on IoT and Future Digital Economy Lab to advance Indonesia in the Industry 4.0 era earlier.
The report highlights that the Lab will provide support for the Indonesian government as they attain their goal of developing the country’s human resources, particularly the younger generation as they face the Industry 4.0.
