With its Anti-Drowsiness Alarm, ITB Wins the 2015 Road Safety Essay Competition
The high number of road accidents in Indonesia has attracted the attention of many. Many of these accidents are caused by negligence on the part of drivers who do not comply with traffic regulations. Furthermore, many motorcyclists today pay little attention to their driving conditions. However, safety and security are crucial aspects of driving. Based on this, Faiz Anhar Widodo (Electrical Engineering 2013) created an innovation to ensure road safety: an anti-drowsy alarm. This alarm, named JOTURU, won first place in the 2015 Road Safety Scientific Paper Competition held by the Ministry of Land Transportation.
This annual competition, held by the Ministry of Transportation, is a rotating event with rotating participants. In 2013, the competition was specifically for teachers, in 2014 for high school students, and in 2015 for university students. The theme this year was "Transportation, Safety, and Technology." The competition, which began last August, was attended by various universities in Indonesia. At least 500 works were submitted to the committee for selection. Of those 500 works, 10 of the best works were selected to advance to the final presentation round. The 10 best works came from various universities such as ITS, UGM, UNDIP, Udayana University Bali, and many others. ITB itself had 2 representatives in the top 10 best participants. In the final presentation round held on Sunday-Friday (22-27/11/15) at the Allium Hotel Tangerang, only 1 ITB representative succeeded in winning.
Joturu, Alarm Anti Ngantuk
Joturu is an innovation designed for motorcyclists. This device is an alarm or warning system for drivers who become drowsy while driving. This is because driver drowsiness is one of the many factors that cause traffic accidents. In his paper, Faiz explains that this alarm will be installed on the motorcycle and its driver. This alarm is equipped with a sensor that will sound, emit vibrations, and display on the monitor that will inform the driver's condition. The sensor will be installed above the driver's ear. Furthermore, if the driver is drowsy, the installed sensor will detect it, causing the alarm to sound and vibrate. The sensors installed on the driver include a heart rate sensor and a gyroscope-accelerometer sensor. If seen, this device is similar to a hearing aid for the deaf or elderly. Faiz also said that with the implementation of this device, it is hoped that the number of traffic accidents in Indonesia will decrease.
"I am proud to be able to bring ITB's name back to the national stage," said Faiz, who was once the 2nd Place Winner in the National Robot Competition (Baronas) held by ITS. "I am also very grateful to my friends, Muhammad Isnain, Rizky Septendhi, and Wisnu Suryo who have helped me a lot in this competition," Faiz continued. Since high school, Faiz has been interested in things related to technology and innovation. Faiz also added his desire to develop this tool further and will participate in the Student Creativity Week (PKM). With the emergence of these creative and innovative ideas, it is hoped that the world of transportation in Indonesia will be better in the future.