The Curtin Malaysia team members brief the judges on the Wi-MSS.
MIRI: Curtin University Malaysia Sarawak brought glory to Sarawak when its team triumphed at the Fusionex Track of Innovate Malaysia Design Competition (IMDC) 2017, which took place at the Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre (MaGIC) in Cyberjaya recently.
The university previously won the competition’s Keysight Track and ViTrox Track events last year.
This time, the Curtin Malaysia’s team of final-year Electrical and Electronic Engineering students Chiam Dar Hung, Ng Kay Li and Li Zhen Er wowed the judges with their ‘Wireless Modular Sensory System for Smart Home Applications (Wi-MSS)’ project, viewed as ‘the most innovative among all entries’.
For this feat, the Curtin Malaysia trio earned a cash prize of RM5,000 and a Fusionex training voucher worth RM2,000.
The Wi-MSS is aimed at enabling users to upgrade normal housing units into ‘smarthomes’ via a user-friendly ‘smart plug’, which allows them to remotely monitor and control all plugged-in electrical appliances.
Team leader Chiam thanked his mates for their outstanding teamwork and also expressed his gratitude to project supervisor Dr Garenth Lim King Hann – the university’s electrical and computer engineering lecturer – his guidance and support.
“The Fusionex Track IMDC is an invaluable experience for us, in that it allows us to gain industry feedback on the feasibility of this project. It also stimulates new ideas slated for our current and future projects,” said Dar Hung.
Meanwhile, Lim said said extra-curricular activities such as participation in national competitions like the IMDC serve as an excellent platform for developing innovation, leadership and communication skills in Curtin Malaysia’s engineering students, as well as enhancing their experience and awareness of the latest industrial technologies.
Over 600 students from universities nationwide took part in IMDC 2017, which entered its seventh edition this year.
Technology companies including Fusionex, Intel, Keysight, MathWorks, Microsoft, Motorola Solutions, National Instruments, SilTerra and ViTrox worked together to organise competition, with the support from the Ministry of Higher Education, TalentCorp Malaysia, Dream Catcher and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDeC).