IO, Surabaya – Modern human living generates more and more waste, a lot of which ends up in rivers. Continued accumulation of waste in rivers results in many health, environmental and life quality issues. After having thought long and hard, students of the Tenth of November Institute of Technology (Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember – “ITS”) Student Creativity Program (Program Kreativitas Mahasiswa – “PKM”) designed and created the innovative Internet of Things (IoT)-based Automatic River Solid Waste Scrapper (ARISTER) to help mitigate waste accumulation in rivers.
The team is comprised of Agung Trio Prapanca, Narumi Dwi Ramadhanti, M. Farhan Rais, and Adlian Falah, under the guidance of professors Ari Kurniawan Saputra, S.T., M.T., and Ir. Josaphat Pramudjianto, M.Eng. These four students of ITS’ Department of Engineering were inspired by the high incidence of river pollution throughout Indonesia, due to solid waste. “If we allow this pollution to continue, there will be a negative impact on the local environment and residents,” said Narumi, the only female team member, commented in the press release received by the Independent Observer.
Narumi stated that 54% of the 82 major rivers in Indonesia are heavily polluted by waste from both households and industries. This cause the rivers’ supporting power to collect rainwater and channel it to the sea to decrease. “This is one of the main causes of flooding,” she said.
In order to reduce the problem, PKM Team avoids conventional methods that are proven to be ineffective. Narumi and her team decided to make innovations to the river cleaning technology implemented in the Port of Baltimore, United States. By evaluating the disadvantages of the device Mr. Trash Wheel used in Baltimore and adapting it to the condition of Indonesia’s rivers, ARISTER was born.
“Our ARISTER is an automatic solid waste scrapper integrated to the IoT,” Narumi said. It is installed on the rivers’ bank. When the ultrasonic sensor detects solid waste, an electric signal will be sent to the Arduino, the controller device that allows more convenient electronic use. The Arduino will then drive the actuator, a DC motor, which in turn moves the waste scraper.
The scraper places the waste into a reservoir. The volume of waste in the reservoir is later controlled and monitored real-time using ultrasonic sensors placed on several points in the reservoir’s inner wall and an app. In the end, operators will be notified about changes and current condition of the reservoir regularly using e-mails. “Operators can then retrieve the waste in the reservoir when the time comes,” Narumi said.
Narumi and her team hope that ARISTER can be applied in rivers in Indonesia, especially in Surabaya. Furthermore, she hopes that this device will help reduce waste accumulation in upstream in rivers. “Therefore, we hope to mitigate one of the primary reasons for floods,” she said optimistically. (est)