An airport weather observation system will be produced as Universitas Gadjah Mada collaborates with the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC), and the state-owned PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia.
According to a recent announcement, this collaboration was made official with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the University’s Central Building.
Having this tool is essential in preventing accidents since a lot of air transportation accidents that occur in the country are related to the weather.
The MoU would entail the research and development of the technology, which is called the “Airport Weather Observation Device System”. This will be accomplished by the University.
The testing and certification, meanwhile, will be tasked to the Agency and the Committee. The telecom will be responsible for the production, marketing, installation, and the after-sales provision.
This collaboration is the realisation of a triple helix among the academics, the government and the industry.
Air transportation is responsible for boosting the connectivity among the different regions of Indonesia. This collaboration, among the various developments in the aspect of aviation safety, is expected to provide the support needed in unifying the Republic of Indonesia.
With Indonesia being a maritime country, connectivity through aviation is one of the ways in uniting the country and reducing the disparity among the regions.
The immediate implementation of the MoU will produce results as soon as possible so that the system can be deployed in the airports in the near future.
The technology that the team is aiming to produce and utilise is an automatic airport weather observation system that records weather conditions along the runway with an accuracy of up to 100%.
This technology is being developed by local domestic industries in order to save costs. Local production would also make facilitating of repairs during damage easier.
The concern with sourcing the technology outside Indonesia is the equipment. In case of damage, the waiting time for replacement parts to be shipped will be longer.
National independence can be further realised with the development of this technology locally as it allows the potential of the country’s resources to be maximised.
In producing this technology, the team will be able to explore how domestic technology will be able to answer their country’s needs.
Short term goal would be to keep the flights safe but the long term one is about national independence. This cooperation is beneficial in the acceleration of Indonesia’s progress.
The BMKG is a Non-Departmental Government Agency tasked with carrying out government duties in the fields of Meteorology, Climatology, Air Quality and Geophysics in accordance with the provisions of the prevailing laws.
The NTSC is responsible for the investigation of safety deficiencies of aviation, maritime, railway and road transportation.
PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia is a state-owned enterprise engaged in information and communications technology (ICT) services and telecommunications networks in Indonesia.