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Dancing robots take center stage in Malang robotics competition
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Ninety-two teams from 42 universities located in various provinces, such as East Java, Bali, West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku and Papua, participated in the event. (JP/Aman Rochman)
R
obots showed their moves when they danced the Remong simultaneously for three minutes onstage at the sixth annual Regional Indonesian Robot Contest at Malang State Polytechnic in East Java on Wednesday
The event was divided into five categories, namely the Indonesian Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) Robot Contest, Indonesian Fire-Extinguishing Robot Contest, Indonesian Dancing Robot Contest (KRSTI), Indonesian Soccer Robot Humanoid Contest and Indonesian Wheeled Soccer Robot Contest.
Ninety-two teams from 42 universities located in various provinces, such as East Java, Bali, West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku and Papua, participated in the event.
The Research, Technology and Higher Education Ministry's head of creativity in higher education, Yudi Harianto, said the event was held to develop students’ creativity and encourage innovation in robotics, a field in which the nation could be competitive in international competitions.
Read also: Interview with a robot: AI revolution hits human resources
“The contest winners will be able to represent Indonesia in international-scale competitions such as the Trinity College International Robot Contest,” Yudi said. “We hold the Indonesian Dancing Robot Competition, which features humanoid robots that are able to dance an Indonesian dance. This year, we featured robots dancing the Remong, which is intended to develop traditional Indonesian arts and culture through technology,” he added.
The KRSTI featured Bali-based student Dayu Shinta, who represented Udayana University, Bali, with her team Ascarya. She prepared for the competition for a year and faced challenges in getting the robot to balance.
“The requirements for the KRSTI are very challenging because having robotics knowledge is not enough,” she said. “We also have to combine the beauty of movement and artistic taste of the creators. The interpretations in terms of arts are very personal [...],” she added.
Ramdani Paris Fuad from the Omnia 18 team of Saint Paul Catholic Polytechnic in Sorong, West Papua, faced a different challenge in preparing for the competition.
“Our challenge in this robotics contest is that the batteries and robotic components are only available on Java Island. When ordering online, [the parts] take a minimum of five days to reach Papua,” he said.
Ramdani also pointed out there was difficulty in transporting the components to Malang for the competition. “When we left for Malang, we ordered the batteries in Java and sent several components a week earlier, and asked for help from a friend to keep them. High-voltage batteries cannot be sent via airplane, so we had to utilize boats." (asw)
