A group of students from across faculties at UGM have developed an automatic pest-repellent device called Memedi Modern or MeMo to keep sparrows away.
This pest-repellent device was created by Hanif Nur Wahid (Agricultural Engineering), Hanif Riadi (Nuclear Engineering), Azkal Anas Ilmawan (Nuclear Engineering), Devi Fitriana (Electrical Engineering), Adinda Putri Romadhon (Information Technology), under the guidance of Dr. Andri Prima Nugroho.
The idea for creating MeMo originated from the concerns of the Sari Makmur Sengir Farmers Group in Sumberharjo, Sleman.
They were troubled by the threat of sparrow attacks in their rice fields. The presence of a significant number of sparrows was jeopardizing their rice production. They still used conventional methods, such as spreading nets over the rice fields, to reduce sparrow attacks.
“Repelling birds using this method doesn’t comply with the principles of Integrated Pest Management because birds trapped in the nets will die. Therefore, we created an innovative and effective tool, MeMo,” explained Hanif Wahid on Wednesday (October 18).
He explained that MeMo stands for Memedi Modern. In Javanese, Memedi means a frightening creature, so MeMo signifies a modern device that scares off sparrow pests.
“MeMo can operate automatically in rice fields, benefiting users. It’s made from residual plastic waste material,” he said.
MeMo is made from dried plastic waste that is heated and molded into a specific shape. This process adds to its uniqueness and helps gradually reduce plastic waste.
A 100 WP solar panel powers MeMo. The solar panel charges the battery, which is a direct current (DC) type, so it needs to be converted into alternating current (AC) using an inverter to power the ultrasonic speaker.
“MeMo is also integrated with a PIR sensor that works like a switch. The PIR sensor detects objects near MeMo, which, in this case, is the sparrows. The PIR sensor is also used to conserve energy, so the ultrasonic speaker will only turn on when an object is detected in front of the PIR sensor,” he added.
Suharno, a MeMo user from the Sari Makmur Sengir Farmers Group, said that MeMo has an elegant design made of materials that can withstand hot and rainy weather. MeMo has proven to be effective in repelling sparrows.
“We hope MeMo can be further developed so that it can have a wider range of pest repellency and be applied on a larger scale in the future,” Wahid expressed.
Author: Ika
Photo: The UGM MeMo Team