Mahasiswa UGM Buat Timbangan Bersuara
Mahasiswa UGM Buat Timbangan Bersuara
Five students of Electronics and Instrumentation of Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences UGM have developed a digital weighing scale for the blind. The device called Rama Shinta can automatically produce sounds once the weight of the goods are known.
Ary Kusuma Ningsih, Arif Abdul Aziz, Laely Nurbaety, Luthfi Yahya, and Dwitya Bagus Widyantara have developed the sound-producing scales to enable the blind in their entrepreneural activities and minimise cheats in trading.
“In general, the blind finds it difficult to get accurate information on the weight of the goods they trade, which may cause cheatings due to their limited physical abilities,” said Ary on Monday (11/8) in a discussion with journalists at UGM.
The scales are equipped with an arduino uno micro-controller, four sensors for load cell, buzzer, sound module, and spiker. A keypad using the Braille is also installed.
Ary mentioned that the device can measure weights up to 30 kg of goods.
Rama Shinta has two methods of weighing. First, the goods are put on the scales and the weight will appear on the LCD screen and a sound will be heard. Second, users need to input the weight they want. Once the required weight is attained, the scales will beep longer.
Initially, the students found it difficult to adjust the weight and the sound. Eventually, this works with the sound module.
The device is created under the Student Creativity Programme (PKM-KC) 2014. During research, they spent at least Rp10 millions for the device.
Presently, they have not produced the device in mass. So far, some requests have been raised by the disabled groups that have entrepreneurial business.
The scales are a technology innovation that may help the blind in trading. The device also sends the students to the 27th Student Scientific Week (PIMNAS) 2014 to be held at Universitas Diponegoro, Semarang, from 25-28 August 2014.