Curtin Malaysia team comes in first in Fusionex Track of Innovate Malaysia Design Competition 2017

Miri – 5 September 2017 – Final-year electrical and electronic engineering students Chiam Dar Hung, Ng Kay Li and Li Zhen Er of Curtin University, Malaysia (Curtin Malaysia) did their university proud by coming in first in the Fusionex Track of the Innovate Malaysia Design Competition (IMDC) 2017 grand finale recently.

The team’s ‘Wireless Modular Sensory System for Smart Home Applications (Wi-MSS)’ project, judged as the most innovative among the projects showcased by competing university teams in the track, won them a cash prize of RM5,000 and a Fusionex training voucher worth RM2,000.

The project aims to enable users to easily upgrade normal homes into smart homes using a user-friendly ‘smart plug’ that will allow them to remotely monitor and control plugged-in electrical appliances.

The device is also capable of analysing an appliance’s electoral consumption and efficiency, as well as sense ambient conditions such as light and temperature levels in the home. If needed, it can be customised according to user needs by plugging in and configuring various types of sensors.

The team was supervised by electrical and computer engineering lecturer Dr. Garenth Lim King Hann and supported by the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Curtin Malaysia’s Faculty of Engineering and Science.

The IMDC, which was held at the Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre (MaGIC) in Cyberjaya, saw the participation of over 600 students from Malaysian universities and was the seventh series of the competition, the largest and most prestigious engineering design competition in Malaysia.

According to Dr. Lim, co-curricular activities such as participating in national competitions are an excellent platform for developing innovation, leadership and communication skills among Curtin Malaysia’s engineering students, as well as enhancing their student experience and awareness of the latest technologies and developments in industry.

He said Curtin Malaysia’s Faculty of Engineering and Science actively promotes such activities and encourages its students to participate in both national and international competitions where they have performed extremely well over the years.

Team leader Chiam commended his teammates for their outstanding teamwork and expressed his gratitude to Dr. Garenth and the university for their support of the team and its project. He said the IMDC was an invaluable experience that allowed the team to garner considerable industry feedback on the feasibility of its project. It also stimulated new ideas for the team’s current and future projects.

Li, too, said there was great teamwork within the team, and he was glad to have contributed to the development of the project prototype, as well as to the team’s presentations to the judges and visitors to their project showcase at the competition. He said the feedback gathered will help the team improve the Wi-MSS’ specifications and functions.

Meanwhile, Ng remarked that, in addition to feedback from industry experts and the public, she managed to pick up some valuable technical and soft skills from the competition. She said winning in the competition was her biggest achievement so far and a huge milestone in her life.

All three students are active members of Curtin Malaysia’s Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Student Branch who have in the past or are currently holding committee positions. Dr. Lim is advisor to the student branch.

Curtin Malaysia scored a hat-trick in the IMDC when another team of final-year electrical and electronic students comprising Kong Sheng How, Desmond Ting Zhong Xuan and Bong Chu Jun won in the competition’s Keysight Track. Last year, a Curtin Malaysia team won first prize in the ViTrox Track at the grand finale held in Penang.

Open to final-year undergraduate engineering, computer science and science/mathematics students, the IMDC is aimed at promoting an innovative culture in engineering design work, tackle real-world problems with practical engineering solutions, and churn out bright talents for product development, research and commercialisation.

Technology companies, including Fusionex, Intel, Keysight, MathWorks, Microsoft, Motorola Solutions, National Instruments, SilTerra and ViTrox, work together co-organise the competition with the support of the Ministry of Higher Education, TalentCorp Malaysia, Dream Catcher, MDeC and others.

The team demonstrating the Wi-MSS to judges.

The team receiving their prize from the organisers.

The team posing with the Faculty Dean and lecturers of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.