The SARVision team from the Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Sumatera Utara (FT USU), earned 4th place (Harapan I) out of 10 national finalists in the Hackathon Deeptech 2026: Indonesia Chip Hackathon Challenge 2026. The final stage took place on October 21–23, 2026, at the Indonesia Chip Design Collaborative Center, ITB Innovation Park.

The team represents the Undergraduate Electrical Engineering Study Program at FT USU, comprising Muhammad Fariz Ardiansyah (Team Leader), Steven Gerald, Reinhard Ahmad Gunawan Butar Butar, and Hardy Johnaphan.

Competing under the Artificial Intelligence theme, the team presented their project, "SARVision: Low-Power AI Accelerator Chip for Disaster Victim Detection Based on Thermal-RGB Fusion on Drones." Their innovation integrates thermal imaging and RGB sensor data to accelerate human victim identification using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

The architectural design emphasizes low-power AI accelerator chip implementation. This hardware approach addresses critical constraints in mobile edge devices, such as drones, which demand real-time onboard data processing under strict battery energy limits.

The team received academic mentorship from Prof. Dr. Ir. Fahmi, S.T., M.Sc., IPU; Emerson Pascawira Sinulingga, S.T., M.Sc., Ph.D.; and Dr. Ir. Soeharwinto, S.T., M.T. Faculty guidance proved instrumental in strengthening the chip design architecture and applying student competencies in microelectronics and embedded artificial intelligence.

This national achievement directly supports Sustainable Development Goal SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) through microchip design and artificial intelligence technology innovation, SDG 4 (Quality Education) by fostering competition-based learning and faculty mentorship, as well as SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) by advancing disaster response and search-and-rescue technologies.