Klojen (malangkota.go.id) – The availability of electricity while at sea for traditional fishermen is often a problem in itself. Not only does it burden operational costs, the availability of electrical energy also always depends on the battery life/generator (generator set) which works in conjunction with the ship's engine.

This condition is what made a group of students from Brawijaya University Malang to create a wave power generator. Not only fish, while sailing the fishermen also get electrical energy without having to spend additional costs.
Is Caption (Cantilever Piezoelectric Energy Harvester with Energy Bank System for Fisherman) which is a tool for harvesting ocean wave-powered electrical energy, the work of students from the Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Brawijaya University, Malang, as an alternative technological innovation for utilizing maritime energy sources.
This small team is chaired by Kevin Rachman Firdaus and consists of Ariq Kusuma Wardana and Muhammad Mufti Fajar. At the event Indonesia Energy Innovation Challenge (IEIC) 2018 at the Hassanuddin University campus in Makassar on 21-23 November 2018, Caption won second place.
Creation Caption, said Kevin when met on his campus, Saturday (12/01/2019), the background was the uneven distribution of electrification in coastal communities, thus creating disparities and decreasing welfare for traditional fishermen.
Not only that, the use of electrical energy that relies on the work of machines while at sea has actually increased the operational costs of fishermen, thus having a negative impact on the fishermen's fish catch.
"Through Caption, an alternative solution is offered by utilizing sea waves and piezoelectric cantilever. This tool itself is a harvester of vibration energy in sea waves and converts it into low-power electrical energy," explained Kevin.
System cantilevers producing repeated vibrations and deflections as the main source of cheap and easy-to-apply electrical energy while at sea.
In simple terms, the up and down movement of ocean waves is captured by a buoy so that it moves a set of gears of a certain size. The rotation of the gears then moves piezoelectric cantilever by swinging a certain distance repeatedly. The repeated kinetic energy of the piezoelectric cantilever then converted into electrical energy and stored in a dry cell or battery.
The research results show that during six to eight hours at sea, fishermen are able to collect 17,84 to 22,12 watt hour through Caption. The amount of electrical energy can increase if a number of devices are installed in one boat. Caption integrated manner.
uniquely, Caption can be easily made by fishermen, and besides all the supporting electronic equipment being widely available in shops, the mechanical device used can also utilize used spare parts from ship engines or motorbike engines.
"Forward, Caption will continue to be developed and simplified, so that it can be useful in supporting the performance of fishermen at sea and provide maximum results for the welfare of their families," concluded Kevin. (say/yon)