Winning 7 Asia-Level Awards, The Aurobot’s Creation by the UNESA Team Can Provide Therapy for Autistic Children

Unesa.ac.id, SURABAYA—Surabaya State University (UNESA) has once again made remarkable achievements by winning various awards at The 2nd Regional Association of Vocational and Technical Education in Asia (RAVTE) Students Innovation Award 2023.

The Faculty of Engineering (FT) UNESA team won 7 awards at once in the Asia-level robotics competition held in early June 2023. RAVTE-SIA held two types of competitions, namely innovation research and prototype competitions, with nine categories.

In this competition, UNESA sent 5 teams in 2 categories, with 2 teams competing in category A (Technology and Industry Innovation) and 3 teams in category C. Among the five teams that participated, 2 won bronze medals and 5 teams received special awards.

Muhamad Syariffuddien Zuhrie, S.Pd., M.T., the supervising lecturer, said this year's RAVTE competition was the first time for UNESA. The teams were a collaboration between the FT Robotics Team, the FT Debate Team, and Himatektro.

These five teams met with other teams from 9 countries in Asia. “It so happened that these five teams had innovative products that matched the theme, which minimized difficulties and made the proposal preparation process quick,” he explained.

The team that won two awards at once (Bronze Awards and Special Award for Best Quality), the Audi’s team (Autonomous Underwater Drone of Indonesia System), is an unmanned submarine designed for maritime security support.

This robot is also a development of previous research by the team that participated in the National Unmanned Fast Boat Contest (KKCTBN) in 2022. “This is a development of last year's research from the Autonomous Semi-Submarine Drone (ASSD) division, which won first place. From there, we dared to participate in RAVTE because the specifications met the criteria,” he revealed.

This robot has small dimensions with relatively light mass, low design, and manufacturing costs. Despite the relatively low cost of production, this robot is equipped with a fiberglass and aluminum cover as well as a body frame that is claimed to be resistant to impact, high pressure, and non-corrosive waves, making Audi’s relatively durable and long-lasting.

The AUDI control system uses an Embedded System Pixhawk 2.4.8 Autopilot as the navigation and movement controller. For balance and stability, this robot balances itself even in water because the Pixhawk contains an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU).

“This robot utilizes affordable sensors and components, allowing it to compete in terms of price and capability,” he added.

Next, The Aurobot's (Autism Therapy Robot System), a humanoid robot designed as a learning medium for children with autism. Utilizing the Internet of Things (IoT) and technology, this robot is used to enhance rehabilitation and early intervention methods for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

“We thought, why don't we create a human-shaped robot to help autistic children who have communication and language barriers, so they can access education and social skills, which also contribute to sustainable development,” he explained.

The FT lecturer mentioned that The Aurobot’s is claimed to be able to monitor and observe the development of young children with autism to optimize their abilities according to their needs. This robot is also programmed based on early intervention programs, one of which includes motor activities.

With this achievement, UNESA further solidifies its position as one of the centers of education and research focused on the development of world-class robotics technology.

For information, the details of the awards won by UNESA in this competition are: The Aurobot’s Team (Bronze Award), Stark Team (Bronze Award), Audi’s Team (Special Award for Best Quality and Best Presentation), Arek’s Team (Special Award for Best Design and Best Commercialization), and Pirates Team (Special Award for Best Presentation). []

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Author: Mohammad Dian Purnama

Editor: @zam Alasiah*

Photo: UNESA Robotics Team Documentation

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