For those who enjoy collecting action figures, there’s a unique addition to your collection–action figures created by UGM students using waste from gas lighters and used plastic bottles.
These action figures, named Ferrumium, were crafted by five UGM Physics Engineering students. What sets them apart is their inclusion of Augmented Reality (AR) technology, which adds a distinctive aspect to the product.
Ferrumium was designed by Yohanes Mario Putra Bagus (Physics Engineering 2022), Bintang Putra Megantara (Physics Engineering 2022), Muhammad Fachrurrozy (Physics Engineering 2022), Muhammad Iqbal Fajri (Physics Engineering 2022), and Stephanie Chika Devanesa Daniarto (Physics Engineering 2022), under the guidance of Dr. Nur Abdillah Siddiq.
They developed this product through a grant from the Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education’s Student Creativity Program for Entrepreneurship in 2023.
Team leader Mario Bagus explained that their inspiration for creating Ferrumium comes from their love for mecha series, such as Gundam and Transformers.
Simultaneously, they were concerned about the country’s inadequate waste management practices. Therefore, they and their team innovatively turned waste materials like gas lighters, plastic bottles, and wood into aesthetically pleasing, economically valuable action figures.
“Unlike the plastic raw materials used for most mini-robots in the market, Ferrumium is made by recycling waste materials from gas lighters, bottles, and wood collected from junkyards and waste banks,” he said on Wednesday (October 11).
The visual representation of metal dominance through gas lighters gives Ferrumium the appearance of being made of metal, similar to most robots. The distinctive feature of Ferrumium compared to other miniature robots is the utilization of AR technology.
Ferrumium adopts various wayang (shadow puppet) characters, such as Puntadewa-23, Janaka-04, Werkudara-02, and many more.
Wayang characters are intended to promote local wisdom through wayang stories, which are currently less popular among the public. Each character is unique based on wayang stories.
“With the Augmented Reality feature, buyers can enjoy 3D modeling through the Ferrumium app,” added Bintang Megantara.
Megantara said that even though Ferrumium is made from used materials, it doesn’t have a shabby or makeshift appearance. It is designed with great attention to detail and aesthetics as a visually attractive work of art.
“Our action figures, with a height of 30 cm and a width of 10-15 cm, are constructed solidly to ensure they can be played like regular action figures,” he said.
Stephanie Daniarto added that Ferrumium is an educational tool, as the character names are based on wayang figures. Therefore, Ferrumium becomes a medium for introducing and preserving the nation’s culture from erosion due to the rapid pace of development.
“We market Ferrumium as a set, which includes one Ferrumium, one stand, three stickers, and one application account. We sell one set for Rp300,000,” she said.
This product is available on the social media platforms IG: @pkmugm_ferrumium and FB: pkmugm_ferrumium. Additionally, the product can be found on Amazon and Shopee.
Ferrumium’s presence doesn’t just bring a new flavor to action figure collecting; it also supports achieving sustainable development goals in creating a healthy and comfortable environment through waste utilization and entrepreneurial ventures in the creative industry sector.
Author: Ika
Photographer: Donnie