Curtin Malaysia graduate among top winners in Moto Inno Cup

Miri – 17 November 2018 – Curtin University Malaysia (Curtin Malaysia) electrical and computer engineering graduate Jonathan Phang Then Sien was among the top winners in the recent Moto Inno Cup 2018, emerging third in the annual inter-varsity software competition.

Phang walked away with a trophy and RM1,000 cash for his final-year project entitled ‘Deep Learning in Real-Time Gait Recognition for Surveillance System’.

Themed ‘Artificial Intelligence: Real-Time Mission Critical Solution Enabler’, the Moto Inno Cup 2018 was the fifth annual competition organised by INTI International College Penang and sponsored by Motorola Solutions.

The competition is aimed at cultivating interest in embedded systems development to promote the development of science, technology and engineering in the community. Competitors from various varsities compete in five categories: disaster relief, public safety, security, public healthcare, and civil defence.

Phang’s project aims to enhance surveillance efficiency and early detection in surveillance systems. It provides real-time analytics of unusual human movement using human gait recognition, which utilises a deep learning neural approach as the computing pipeline.

Phang said the competition is a good platform for cultivating young talent in embedded system software development, as well as promoting the development of cutting-edge technologies to meet society’s needs.

“I highly encourage university students to actively participate in such events to expand their knowledge and exchange ideas with students from other varsities,” said Phang.

Phang’s project supervisor and electrical and computer engineering senior lecturer Dr. Garenth Lim King Hann said students should be encouraged to work outside their comfort zones.

“They more often than not perform beyond expectations when given the opportunities and proper guidance. It is important to give our students our full support in competitive platforms so they can demonstrate their creativity, knowledge and skills to their peers and potential employers,” said Dr. Lim.

Phang posing with his trophy and mock cheque.