Curtin Malaysia engineering students clinch I-CPEX silver awards

Miri – 8 December 2022 – Two student teams from Curtin University Malaysia (Curtin Malaysia) recently won silver awards at the International Final Year Project Competition & Exhibition (I-CPEX) 2022 organised by the Malaysian Institute of Information Technology (MIIT) at Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL).

The aim of the competition and exhibition was to provide a platform for teams or individuals from various institutions of higher learning in Malaysia to showcase their projects or innovations.

The first team winning silver comprised undergraduate students Jordan Chin Shin Yiin, Kou Tzer Shawn, Brandon Ng Kah Meng, Wong Jia Man and Lim Zi Hao under the supervision of lecturer Dr. Timothy Ting Zhi Hong from Curtin Malaysia’s Department of Civil and Construction Engineering.

Their project submission titled ‘Slag Concrete Comprehensive Strength Prediction with Big Data Analysis’ involved the use of alkali-activated slag (AAS) concrete to replace ordinary Portland cement (OPC) concrete to reduce the carbon footprint of the construction industry.

In an effort to align with current technology, big data analysis was used for non-destructive test of strength prediction where an artificial neural network (ANN) was applied to predict the strength of the AAS concrete.

Four ANN models were developed with different architectures to investigate the accuracy of the compressive strength prediction. Other parameters altering the concrete strength were also discussed. The project’s findings were that ANN is able to predict AAS concrete strength with high accuracy, and the team believes the ANN strength prediction model can be effectively applied in the construction industry.

The second team comprised students Daryl Loh Ming Kay, Alan Tiong Ka Wei, Sia Chun Wan, Yii Zhi Sheng and Tan Zhen Shiun, who were supervised by Associate Professor Garenth Lim King Hann from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Their project titled ‘Real-Time Physical Competency Assessment using Depth Sensing’ focused on a fully marker-less, vision-based method of conducting physical competency assessments of the effects of fitness exercises. Currently, the algorithm used is based on Functional Movement Screen and Bronco Fitness to compute biomechanical parameters (joint moments, joint angles, human characteristic measurements, etc.). They give users a preliminary assessment of their competencies in physical fitness, as well as a general idea of weaknesses and pain to be tackled throughout their fitness journey.

Chair of the Student and Alumni Relations Committee at Curtin Malaysia’s Faculty of Engineering and Science, Associate Professor Bridgid Chin Lai Fui, commented that she was glad to see the positive outcomes from the competition. She said such competitions encourage students to engage in creating the future and help them develop critical skills to make them career-ready upon graduation.

Meanwhile, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Science Professor Tuong-Thuy Vu congratulated the students on their wins, saying, “Congratulations to the students and their supervisors. I am delighted to see their efforts being recognised at such a prestigious competition, proving that our engineering programs are of the highest quality.”

Information on Curtin Malaysia can be found on its website at www.curtin.edu.my, or look for Curtin Malaysia on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn or TikTok.

The winning teams from Curtin Malaysia