‘Monica’: An Innovative Device Developed by ITB Students to Detect Chili Diseases—A Solution for Superior Seeds
By Ahmad Fauzi - Mahasiswa Rekayasa Kehutanan, 2021
Editor M. Naufal Hafizh, S.S.
BANDUNG, itb.ac.id – The Electrical Engineering Study Program of the School of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, Bandung Institute of Technology (STEI ITB), in collaboration with the ITB Electrical Engineering Student Association (HME), held the "Electrical Engineering Days" exhibition at the East Hall, ITB Ganesha Campus, from Tuesday to Thursday (May 24–26, 2025). The event showcased the final projects of Electrical Engineering students from the 2021 cohort. Among the featured innovations was a device designed to detect diseases in chili plants, named “Monica,” short for Monitoring of Chilli Anthracnose. This tool was developed by Group 22, consisting of Ibnu Tisna Yuwanda, Ganesha Indrayana Kusuma, and Najmi Az Zahra Feryputri.
Monica is a closed-chamber system designed to monitor anthracnose disease in chili peppers. It is expected to help users observe disease progression and severity levels of anthracnose in chili plants.
Ibnu Tisna Yuwanda explained that the development of this tool was driven by the growing need for high-quality, disease-resistant chili seeds, especially in light of the rising price of chilies.
Tisna also elaborated on the operational process of the tool in determining disease severity, which is rated on a scale from 0 to 9. “After the chili is cleaned, it is injected with the Anthracnose sp. pathogen, then placed into the chamber. We set the temperature, humidity, and light intensity. Monitoring is then carried out. From the monitoring process, we collect image data of the chili, which is stored in a database,” he said.
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With this tool, damage caused by anthracnose in chili peppers can be observed in real time, either via a website or on-site. This makes it easier for users to select chilies suitable for seed cultivation, ensuring the breeding of disease-resistant, high-quality plants.
Tisna noted that one of the main challenges in designing this device was integrating their system with existing platforms, since the project builds on previous research. “We had to understand the existing system so we could properly integrate our device into it,” he explained.
He hopes that the tool can be further developed for use on other crops such as tomatoes, cucumbers, and more.
