This year, there were 33 higher education institutions that took part in this competition, such as institut Teknologi Bandung, Gadjah Mada University, Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology, University of Indonesia, Telkom University, and many more. In this competition, Aksantara ITB managed to win 5 awards from 6 categories, which are:
1. First Winner of Racing Plane Division, beating 33 competing higher education institutions
2. Second Winner of Fixed Wing (FW) Division, beating 20 competing higher education institutions
3. Third Winner of Technology Development Division – Propulsion System Development (TDP) Subdivision, beating 7 competing higher education institutions
4. Third Winner of Technology Development Division – Airframe Innovation Subdivision (TDA), beating 13 competing higher education institutions
5. Second Runner-Up of Technology Development Division – Flight Controller Development (TDF) Subdivision

KRTI is a national aerial robot competition that is held annually, in which every division of the competition has its own distinct theme, such as “Emergency Package Delivery in Quarantine Area” for the Fixed Wing Division and “Innovate UAV Technology” for the Technology Development Division.

According to Rafael (AE’17), the Head of Aksantara ITB 2019-2020, the team had started preparation for the competition since January along with recruitment for new members and formation of KRTI team at Aksantara. Due to the pandemic situation, the participants of the competition were asked to demonstrate their inventions from their respective areas.

“Covid-19 has also affected the preparation phase of the competition. At the beginning, our campus forbids any activity that is held inside the campus and therefore, we were unable to access campus and workshop facilities that we usually use for the competition preparation. However, the campus authority allowed us to use Asrama Sangkuriang ITB to prepare for the competition. Finding a place for demonstrating our product is also a problem for us since obtaining a permit for a place that has enough space for demonstrating our product is not an easy thing to do,” Rafael said.

Participating in a competition amid the Covid-19 pandemic is not easy. However, Aksantara ITB has proved that situational limitations are not an obstacle for creative thinking, being adaptive, and producing innovative and spectacular products. Rafael also hoped that their recent achievements would help Aksantara ITB to maintain their performance and win more competitions in the future. Rafael also thanked the whole Civitas Academica of ITB who have supported Aksantara ITB at KRTI 2020.

Aksantara ITB is a student organization that is focused on the development of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle/Drone (UAV). Aksantara ITB started off first as a team for KRTI 2013, which then became a student organization that is focused on UAV development in 2018.

Reporter : Diah Rachmawati
Translator : Verdyllan Nurendra Agusta