SOLO – Sebelas Maret University (UNS) launches two car which are designed by students of Machine Engineering Faculty of Engineering (FT) UNS named Estungkara and Samudra, Friday (17/5/2013), at UNS main office yard. The cars will be sent to Sepang, Malaysia entering the International Shell Eco Marathon (SEM) Asia 2013 competition next July (4-7).
On that occasion, UNS sends two teams named Bengawan team. Bengawan team 1 will enter Prototype Gasoline category with their car, Estungkara. While the other team, Bengawan team 2, will enter Urban Gasoline category with Samudra.
The manager of Bengawan teams, Dewi Utami, said that her teams felt proud since they can enter the prestigious competition. There were 20 teams out of 300 teams from Indonesia succeeded to slip off the selection held by SEM Asia 2013, including UNS. However, UNS was not the one and only university sending two teams for the competition. The other universities are University of Indonesia, Gajah Mada University, Sumatera Utara University, Institute of Technology Bandung, and Institute of Technology Sepuluh November.
“Entering this competition is a challenge to us. We are challenged to design, create, and manage so that all of the teams and the vehicle can go to Sepang, Malaysia. Realizing the innovation needs seriousness and hard work,” said Dewi.
She explained that the cars had different ability. From the testing which had been done, Samudra, 80 kilograms weight can utilize 1 liter of fuel for 100 kilometers. While Estungkara, a car designed like a F1 racing car, can utilize 1 liter of fuel for 90 kilometers.
On the other side, Rector of UNS UNS Prof. Dr. Ravik Karsidi, MS said that the cars could be an alternative to overcome the less fuel stock, especially with their energy saving abilities. “Students must be able to create something new and think innovatively so that useful for the nation,” said Ravik.
As it is planned, Samudra and Estungkara will depart to Sepang, Malaysia, the end of May. The Bengawan team 1 and 2, with total 17 people, will catch up later on June.[]
