The Barunastra team from the Institut Teknology Sepuluh Nopmber (ITS) once more brought pride to Indonesia, winning the primary place within the International Roboboat competition in 2025 (IRC) in Florida, USA. This prestigious event that connects teams from various countries, serves as a platform for world -class leading in the sphere of maritime technology.
Thanks to the motive for monitoring the environment, this 12 months’s competition called on participants to finish six key missions, including channel navigation, mapping migration patterns and racing with pollution. The accuracy of completing each mission was a key consider determining the winner.
TAIB IZZAT Samewi, general director of Barunastra 2025, her team, said that his team won the primary place within the Challenge Autonomy category, beating 30 other teams. This is Barunastra within the sixth time that won the competition.
“The assessment focused on the ship’s ability to act an autonomous and full mission with high precision,” Taib explained.
Pushing boundaries in maritime technology
In addition to perfection within the challenge of autonomy, Barunastra, her team also showed exceptional research quality, taking second place within the design documentation category. This achievement emphasizes the team’s innovation and technical precision in solving challenges related to maritime technology.
In this Barunastra competition, her team presented Nala Ares, the most recent robotic vessel designed with a carbon fiber structure for reduced mass and optimal swimming. Its advanced drive system ensures more precise maneuvering, while electrical performance is improved by two essential printed boards (PCB): PCB POWER and PCB control.
The architecture of Nala Ares software has also been optimized with perception, cognition and behavior modules, enabling higher system integration for autonomous operations. Thanks to those innovations of Barunastra, her team continues to consolidate their dominance at the worldwide stage of maritime technology.
Indonesian talent shines on a worldwide scene
Barunaster’s success, whose team wouldn’t be possible without the support of varied parties, including sponsors, in addition to months of meticulous preparation. The series of intensive attempts optimally provided Nala Ares systems, which was the important thing to outstanding band ends in the competition.
“From December last 12 months, we’ve got conducted various tests to be certain that all ship systems operate at its best. It was the essential factor of our good ends in the competition,“ Taib said.
Nala Ares innovations are also in step with the aim of sustainable development (SDG) 14, supporting balanced monitoring of the ocean ecosystem. It is anticipated that its autonomous technology will drive more environmentally friendly sea solutions.
This achievement further strengthens Barunastra as a number one team in global maritime competitions. Taib hopes that this success will encourage the younger generation of Indonesia to further introduce innovation and prove that local talent can compete on a global stage.
