Surabaya, September 2, 2024 – In this digital era, technology continues to develop rapidly, including in the food sector. Students of Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) made another breakthrough with their innovation called Terra Smart Patch, which is supported by a sophisticated application. This innovation allows people to detect food freshness more easily and accurately, while contributing to efforts to reduce food waste and carbon emissions.
Terra Smart Patch is a technology developed by Terra Team from UNAIR, which consists of students from across faculties: Arinda Melina Putri and Putri Mardhotillah (Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences), Galih Satrio Jati and Yeremia Budi Cristian (Faculty of Advanced Technology and Multidiscipline), Claudia Benita (Faculty of Public Health), Catherine Harijanto (Faculty of Economics and Business), and Grae Amaranusa (Faculty of Social and Political Sciences). Thanks to this innovation, the Terra Team won three awards at the Indonesia Inventors Day (IID) 2024 event, namely Gold Medal, Best Productivity and Sustainability Project, and U-Go x Inotek Scholarship from INOTEX Foundation.
This innovation comes as an answer to the problem of food waste that often occurs due to public ignorance of food freshness. Terra Smart Patch, which is made from mocaf starch, kappa carrageenan, and bay flower, serves as an indicator of food freshness. When the food starts to spoil, the color on the Terra Smart Patch will change, signaling to the user that the food is no longer fit for consumption.
However, what makes this innovation even more interesting is the application developed by the Terra Team. This application is designed to detect color changes on the Terra Smart Patch, so it is very helpful for those who have limitations such as color blindness. With this application, people can more easily know the level of freshness of food without having to rely solely on vision.
“Our goal is to make technology that is inclusive and can be used by everyone. This application will be very useful, especially for those who have limitations in seeing colors,” said Arinda Melina Putri, one of the Terra Team members.
This innovation not only provides a solution to the food waste problem, but also contributes to reducing carbon emissions generated from food waste. By reducing the amount of food wasted, carbon emissions can be reduced, thus supporting efforts to protect the environment.
The Terra Team’s success at the Indonesia Inventors Day 2024 event is expected to
