As someone who didn’t like cockroaches, Aw Rui Huan was alarmed on her first day of work at HTX when she learned she would be working with the insects on a regular basis. Her perception soon changed when she found out they would be transformed into cyborgs for life saving search-and-rescue operations.
An engineer at HTX's Robotics, Automation & Unmanned Systems (RAUS) Centre of Expertise (CoE), Rui Huan works closely with the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) to understand the unique requirements of search-and-rescue missions so her team can develop the cutting-edge cyborg capabilities accordingly.
She works with a team hailing from HTX, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), and KLASS Engineering and Solutions, to enhance the ground-breaking idea of equipping the Madagascar hissing cockroaches with an electronics "backpack" that includes an infrared camera, microphone, and navigation sensors for search-and-rescue missions. These cyborg cockroaches are a brainchild of Professor Hirotaka Sato, the Provost’s Chair in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at NTU.
Close up of the cyborg cockroach. (Photo: HTX)
“Conventional micro-robots that are as small as the cyborg use the majority of their on-board battery power supply to locomote and can last for only around three to five minutes,” Rui Huan explains. This is impractical for search-and-rescue operations, which can take hours or days. In contrast, the cyborg cockroaches will be able to crawl through debris on their own and their on-board battery supplies only need to power their “backpacks”. This reduced power requirement will allow them to operate for long hours.
Over the months, her fear of cockroaches has been gradually replaced by excitement about their potential. “I’m used to them now,” she matter-of-factly states, adding that the opportunity to work on ground-breaking innovations like these is why she joined HTX in the first place.
Connecting the wires to HTX
When she first started studying mechatronics in polytechnic, Rui Huan was unsure of her career goals. It was not until her internship with the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), where she helped develop the SPF Patrol Robot, that she began to find her mission.
Her internship experience opened her eyes to the practical benefits that robots can bring, and she knew she wanted to pursue a career that allowed her to use this technology to support and help others.
To deepen her knowledge in the robotics field, she applied for and went on to study computer engineering at the National University of Singapore, picking up the software skills vital to robotics before eventually joining HTX in 2021.
Rui Huan with Rover-X. (Photo: HTX)
Since joining HTX she has expanded her breadth and depth of expertise in robotics. Besides working on the cyborg cockroaches, Rui Huan has worked on other RAUS projects that leverage robots, drones, and autonomous technology to boost Singapore’s security landscape.
She has also continued to update her skills, recently completing the CompTIA A+ Certification Training to broaden her IT capabilities. In 2023, she attended the annual XPONENTIAL Conference in the USA which allowed her to learn from experts in the field of unmanned systems and see how the technology is implemented across different sectors.
Given a chance to shine
Rui Huan is grateful for the numerous opportunities offered by HTX to learn and demonstrate her new skills. For example, to broaden her expertise, she recently transitioned from the Ground Systems unit in RAUS CoE to the Intelligence, Interactions, and Inter-Ops (3i) unit, and with the support and guidance of her supervisor, Dr Daniel Teo, Deputy Director (3i), she has started her own greenfield project.
Rui Huan is grateful for the numerous opportunities offered by HTX to learn and demonstrate her new skills.
Starting her own greenfield project allows her to take ownership of the entire innovation process — from analysing problems in the Home Team's day-to-day operations to brainstorming, developing, testing, and implementing potential solutions. Apart from taking ownership of the innovation process, she has learned and applied new technical skills.
Rui Huan has also taken on the responsibility of mentoring younger talents. In 2022, she joined Ong Ka Hing, Deputy Director, Ground Systems RAUS CoE, in mentoring a capstone team from Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). Together, they guided the students to develop a soft robot that, like the cyborg cockroaches, can crawl through the tight spaces of a building collapse to find survivors.
Rui Huan presenting the navigation capabilities of the cyborg cockroaches. (Photo: HTX)
She also appreciates opportunities to present her projects to the HTX senior management and even the Minister for Home Affairs. “It’s important to hear their point of view as they advise on the improvements to the current builds and how these projects could impact society,” she says.
Being in her career for two years and counting, Rui Huan is confident the opportunities to learn a variety of technologies and how to apply them to the real world will prepare her for whatever comes her way.
Looking for a meaningful career that merges homeland security and tech? Find out more about the opportunities at HTX here.