Five students from Universitas Dian Nuswantoro (Udinus) Semarang help elderly people to walk by inventing a device called ‘Autonomous Walker.’ This device is equipped with sensors to prevent users from crashing into other things when using it. ‘Autonomous Walker’ was showcased in the recent event of ‘Expo and Demo Day WMK Udinus.’

Besides the safety sensors, this walking device is also equipped with a tire, battery, and additional features to set the speed. In addition, this device called ‘walker’ has three total wheels, one in the front, and two in the back. On the handle grip, there is a ‘gas’ button and brake panel which can be easily operated. Meanwhile, the speed setting is placed underneath the device, and the sensor is placed on top of the front wheel to assist users in braking when there is an object in front of the ‘walker.’

The inventors consist of 5 students at Udinus. Among 5 of them, one student is from the Bachelor of Computer Science Eagles Robby Irmawan, while the rest four the students are from the Bachelor of Biomedical Engineering at Udinus, such as Ikhsan Praditya Mirwany, Khilman Fahreza Akbar, Felisitas Bina, Haya Awiya.

During an interview, Ikhsan Praditya Mirwany, as one of the creators of ‘Walker’, explained that the making process of ‘autonomous Walker’ took two whole semesters. Originally, the idea of this device came from their friend’s family who suffered from a disease. “At first, we got this idea due to our friends’ granddad who suffered from a stroke and needed some help,” said Ikhsan at the ‘Expo and Demo Day’ event in The Park Mall Semarang.

In order to produce the best prototype with the right spend and sensors, they have gone to countless tryouts. Ikhsan, Adi, and his colleagues are hoping to finish this device so that it can be useful for elderly people as well as people who need help. Moreover, this device is the work of the nation’s youth, making it able to fulfill the demand for walking assist devices among the public, without having to export them from outside the country.

“At first, the acceleration was too slow, and there were too many errors on the sensors. Compared to now, the ‘walker’ is way better and has been successfully tested by some elderly people. Hopefully, our device will be approved to organize mass production and help old people,” Ikhsan added.

Autonomous walker isn’t the only creation by Udinus students that was showcased during the ‘Expo and Demo Day’ event in The Park Mall Semarang. The other devices consist of Gamelan Robot, an automatic electric pedicap called Becikku, Si Warik animation, and Chess Robot. Besides that, there were various products of small enterprises made by students who were participating Udinus WMK Program.

Meanwhile, the managing team principles of the 2023 WMK Udinus, Dr. Rindra Yusianto, S.Kom, M.T., said that among 80 product stands that were exhibited, 36 groups would be invited to meet with investors. The event ‘Expo and Demo Day’ was a golden opportunity for the participants of the WMK Entrepreneurship Program to introduce their products to the public. Furthermore, it can also hone their mental courage when facing consumers or investors.

“We have selected 36 of the best booths to attend the investor engagement session. The chosen groups will have the opportunity for direct meetings with investors, conducting presentations, and negotiating potential collaborations for their products,” said Rindra.

On the final day of the event, during the announcement, the 'Autonomous Walker' team successfully qualified to join the other teams in meeting with the investors. (Udinus Public Relation/Alex. Photo: Udinus PR)