UNDIP, Semarang (23/4) – The Faculty of Engineering at Universitas Diponegoro (UNDIP) has once again achieved a remarkable accomplishment. The Rotect Team from the Faculty of Engineering won the Gold Medal at the Asia Youth Innovation Awards during the international competition Malaysia Technology Expo (MTE) 2026.
MTE is an innovation competition organized by the Malaysian Association of Research Scientists (MARS) and held on April 9–10, 2026, at the World Trade Center, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The event brought together hundreds of teams from dozens of countries, competing to showcase their latest technological innovations.
The team, consisting of Muhammad Faizul Kirom, Mega Adinda Ramadhani, Helmi Yusuf, Verrill Varian Jaya Kusuma, Septhian Kallolangi, Hasna Fadhilah Aulia, and Nicholas David Marsen, presented their innovation titled “ROACH-DETECT: Cyborg Cockroach-Based System for Victim Detection in Disaster Ruins Using Edge Computing for SAR Operations.”
Muhammad Faizul Kirom explained that the innovation was inspired by the team’s concern for disaster victims who are often difficult for rescue teams to reach. To address this issue, they used the Madagascar hissing cockroach (Gromphadorhina portentosa), equipped with an electronic module, as a tracking organism.
“We developed a biohybrid approach using Madagascar hissing cockroaches as a natural mobility platform. Search dogs cannot access very narrow spaces, so we created a solution using much smaller organisms to locate victims in debris,” he explained.
He further added that the system includes a microcontroller programmed to control the cockroach’s movement and to detect victims based on human body temperature patterns. The detection results are then transmitted to a monitoring system accessible by search and rescue (SAR) teams.
“The cockroach is equipped with an electronic backpack based on a microcontroller that functions as the control and data processing center. We can also guide the cockroach using electrical stimuli to direct it into specific areas of the debris,” Kirom elaborated.
Kirom admitted the team did not expect to win the gold medal and expressed gratitude for the judges’ recognition.
“We are very happy and grateful to receive the Gold Award at MTE. Considering the intense competition from participants across many countries, this achievement exceeded our expectations,” he said.
Looking ahead, the team hopes to further develop the innovation beyond the competition stage and implement it for real-world applications.
“We hope this innovation will not stop at competitions, but continue to be refined and eventually applied to benefit society,” he concluded. (Public Communication/UNDIP/Faculty of Engineering Team)