One of the seven units of Gadjah Mada Airport Transporter electric (GATe), developed by the UGM Faculty of Engineering, has been handed over to Angkasa Pura I, a state-owned enterprise responsible for airport management in central and eastern Indonesia. According to the plan, the unit will operate at Yogyakarta International Airport (YIA) for air passenger transport.
“There will be seven units in total. For today, we symbolically hand over the first completed unit to Angkasa Pura I for use at YIA,” said GATe development team leader Dr. Moh. Arif Wibisono, Friday (4/3).
GATe, whose development kicked off in 2019, is a 25 km/h electric airport vehicle that can carry up to 6 people in one go. The vehicle’s built-in lithium battery can cover a distance of 70 km and takes about 6-7 hours to reach a full charge. The development team has also used local components in the manufacture of the vehicle.
“We can produce almost everything ourselves, but it’s still on a prototype scale. We need a few more steps to ensure reliability, which is currently around 50-60%,” said Wibisono.
The GATe prototype has been tested in several locations, including the UGM campus, YIA, and Borobudur Temple, with various performance measurements. The event on Friday also featured the handover document signing by the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Prof. Selo, and the General Manager of Angkasa Pura I, Agus Pandu Purnama.
“Now, we are entering the year of finalization. We will make some improvements in the future based on customer feedback,” he said.
In his remarks, UGM Rector Prof. Panut Mulyono expressed his appreciation to Angkasa Pura I. Apart from YIA, he hopes GATe can also serve air passengers at other airports across Indonesia.
“It is such an honor for UGM, as well as a test for the product that has been made. Quality improvement will be conducted regularly to make sure that the vehicle is always at its finest,” said the Rector.
Author: Gloria
Photo: Dhafa