Robots to rule in UI contests
P.C. Naommy, Jakarta
Robots will rule this weekend when university students compete to unite two lovers and put out fires in exciting displays of scientific prowess.
On Saturday and Sunday, 32 teams from 24 state and private colleges across the country will each present two robots for the Sixth Indonesian Robot Contest themed The Reunion of Rama and Shinta.
In the contest sponsored by the Ministry of National Education and the University of Indonesia (UI), a manually operated robot and a computer-controlled one presented by each team have to finish a bridge and deliver a golden gift from Rama to Shinta.
All tasks must be completed in six minutes. The robots were manufactured by each team on a budget of Rp 4 million (US$444) from the contest committees.
Simultaneously, the committee will also hold the first Indonesian Smart Robot Contest, featuring 14 teams from 13 colleges with one robot each.
Each of the computer-controlled robots built with Rp 2 million provided by the committee, will compete to find lit candles and extinguish them before returning to their start positions within seven minutes.
The contest is aimed at stimulating the innovation of a high- tech fire extinguisher that could be used in the home. "We want to show the industrial world that we are capable of producing this kind of technology," Rinaldy Dalimi, the dean of UI's technical faculty, said on Wednesday.
Satriyo Brodjonegoro, the director general of higher education, said the contests were intended to advance robotic knowledge and increase public awareness about the technology.
Rinaldy, however, lamented that few companies were prepared to sponsor the events.
The winner of the Indonesian Robot Contest 2004 will represent Indonesia in the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union Robocon in Seoul, South Korea, on Sept. 11, while the victors in the Indonesian Smart Robot Contest 2004 will take part in a competition held by Trinity College in the United States.
Winners will also receive trophies from the Ministry of National Education.