The Research Center of Computer Science in Arts and Culture (CSAC) at Universitas Dian Nuswantoro (Udinus) keeps developing E-Gamelanku, as a way to preserve traditional cultures through a digital approach. Recently, CSAC launched an app named E-Gamelanku 2.0 on the Google Play Store.
The research for this app was supported and funded by Udinus through internal funding provided by the Research and Community Service Institute (LPPM) in 2024. It took six months of development before E-Gamelanku 2.0 was eventually released.
During its development, the app was worked on by faculty members of the Computer Science Faculty at Udinus. It was led by Dr. Yuventius Tyas Catur Pramudi, M.Kom., involving three other members, namely, Dr. Arry Maulana Syarif, S.S., M.Kom., and Erlin Dolphinam, M.M., Lukas Yulianto, M.MPar. In addition, five students of the Informatics Department were also involved as programmers. Several Visual Communication Design students also helped, particularly in designing graphics and the layout of the app.
The head researcher and knowledge engineer, Dr. Yuventius Tyas Catur Pramudi, M.Kom., explained that the development was divided into five phases. It encompassed system designing, data gathering—like photos of gamelans and sound recording—, app programming using software named Unity 3D, evaluating, and publishing.
Moreover, E-Gamelanku 2.0 is equipped with two main features. Those two features were single-player and multiplayer modes. The single-player mode allows the user to play the gamelan individually as a way to learn and practice playing gamelans in real life. The feature can also be utilized in a live performance.
“Meanwhile, the multiplayer mode functions as a way to interact in the virtual world. The users of this app could interact and unite with each other to learn and play Gamelan orchestrally. Interestingly, this mode allows access for every user to establish their own virtual gamelan school, allowing other users to join and interact virtually with their communities,” he explained.
The Development of E-Gamelanku
Starting from traditional gamelan, E-Gamelanku has seen advancements from time to time. After the emergence of the first version of E-Gamelanku, the public has since seen many downsides and potentials for further development.
“In the previous version, the spread of this app was still relatively shallow, as the app had to be copied one by one through flash drives. Moreover, it’s also difficult to get our app to reach an audience with iPads, iPhones, and other iOS devices. Eventually, we thought that it was a good idea to rekindle this app in the form of an Android app, and then we launched it on the Google Play Store. Hopefully, through this platform, our app can reach many people,” Tyas uttered.
One of the researchers, Dr. Arry Maulana Syarif, S.S., M.Kom., added that there were also novelties offered by E-Gamelanku 2.0. In addition to the multiplayer mode, the research team also improved several elements of the app, including gamelan picture and sound, design, layout, color themes, and system navigation.
“In the previous version, the visualization of gamelan was presented in a 3D perspective mode, causing the users to imprecisely touch the tuts of the virtual gamelan. In this new version, the visual is presented from a top-down perspective to address the previous problem,” he revealed.
Dr. Arry—who was also the Secretary of the CSAC Research Center at Udinus, stated that the research center appreciated the output of research surrounding E-Gamelanku. The support was given all the way to the commercialization on the Google Play Store. In that app commercialization valued at IDR 10.000,00, the CSAC Research Center also partnered with PT. Dinustek.
“The release of E-Gamelanku on the Google Play Store opens a wide opportunity to develop a sustainable system to foster, improve, socialize, promote, and market the app. In the short term, the CSAC Research Center will involve stakeholders from the regional government of Central Java, including the Education and Culture Service, gamelan schools, and schools that promote E-Gamelanku 2.0,” Dr. Arry.
Meanwhile, the team is currently making its way to issue intellectual rights and publish research papers to further enhance the app development. The E-Gamelanku 2.0 can be accessed through the Google Play Store or this web link: https://bit.ly/E-GamelanKu. (Humas Udinus/Penulis: Ika, Editor: Haris. Foto: Humas Udinus)
