UB students launch breast cancer early-detection system via BUDDY

Malang, East Java – Four students from Universitas Brawijaya (UB), Dastino Putra Rendy Lovind, Anggie Fadillah Dwiva, Livy Noer Azizah, and Rifda Alfia Safina, have launched an innovation for early detection of breast cancer that uses a thermal camera (BUDDY). ‘The idea we carry is called BUDDY or Breast Urgency Detection Device with Thermography; the system can be operated via a mobile phone app and can provide results quickly in five to ten seconds,’ UB student representative Dastino Putra Rendy said in Malang, East Java, on Friday. The BUDDY idea stems from Dastino and the other three students’ desire to make it easier for the public to know their health status. The system is an alternative self-check that can be done at home. Then an AI system trained using thousands of sample photos from Digital Mark Recognition (DMR), Roboflow annotations, and AI YOLO v8 will output the results. The detection covers location, cancer stage, and size. The four UB students’ design has won second place at the International Student Competition 2026 organised by Entrepreneurial Development and Graduate Marketability (CEM) Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) on 14-15 February 2026. BUDDY has also been patented with number EC00202467457 and application date 18 July 2024. Dastino also hopes that in the future this idea can be commercialised, while receiving development assistance from the government.