Solar-Powered Fishing Boat Takes ITB Students to Singapore
BANDUNG, itb.ac.id – The ITB Elvish Team led by Azmi Roqi successfully qualified for the top 16, outperforming 31 teams from 12 countries in the Young Social Entrepreneurs (YSE) event held by the Singapore International Foundation (SIF) on Wednesday (21/03/2018) to Saturday (24/03/2018), after previously being declared to have passed the proposal selection in mid-February 2018.
This research began with the concern of five ITB Electronics students from 2013, namely Azmi Roqi, Irham Mulkan Rodiana, Ali Zaenal Abidin, Rama Wardhana, and Ahmad Zaki H. regarding the lives of fishermen in Cidaun, Cianjur, West Java. From their observations, they found that approximately 90% of the results obtained from fishing are reused to buy fuel needs while sailing. Moreover, if fuel prices increase, then the profits obtained by fishermen will be even less. Therefore, they initiated the idea of a solar-powered fishing boat as an alternative to conservative fishing boats that use diesel fuel.
With guidance from from Ir. Arief Syaichu Rohman, MEngSc, Ph.D —a STEI lecturer with experience in developing electric cars at ITB— Elvish's team worked on a prototype of the solar-powered fishing boat. He not only provided technical guidance but also provided guidance on how to manage the boat once it was completed. The prototype work was made possible thanks to the support of ITB's laboratory facilities.
Turning a prototype into a solar-powered fishing boat requires significant investment. Therefore, the Elvish team entered their project in the 2018 Young Social Entrepreneurs (YSE) competition held in Singapore.
When interviewed, they admitted to encountering several obstacles in the process, such as technical issues. However, these were overcome with a strong motivation to improve the lives of Indonesian fishermen. "We want to see the lives of these fishermen change," Azmi said when asked about the biggest expected output of this project. Support for the Elvish team also came from the fishermen themselves. "They are very... welcome "With this technology, the Fishermen's Association is also willing to test the finished product. Once the test is complete, they will summon fishermen from all over West Java to promote it."
Not only will the fishing boat project, initiated by the Elvish team, be solar-powered, it will also be equipped with a more sophisticated navigation system and a refrigeration system for storing caught fish to maintain their freshness.
Next October, the Elvish team will compete again for the top 6 positions and a grant of 20,000 SGD.
Author: Karimatukhoirin (Industrial Engineering 2016), Reporter for ITB News Agency