First prize at Innovate Malaysia Design Competition

A team of three students, namely Tan Wei Lun, Tan Tar Wei and Leong Qi Ye from Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science (LKC FES) won first prize at the Innovate Malaysia Design Competition under the IR 4.0 Applications Track. The Mechatronics Engineering students won first prize for their project titled “Data-driven smart charging station for automated guided vehicle (AGV)”.

The Innovate Malaysia Design Competition 2023, orchestrated by Dream Catcher from 30 November 2022 via Microsoft Teams, culminated in an online grand finale on 7 August 2023. The competition provided a platform to tackle real-world problems with innovative engineering solutions, and churn out promising talents for product development, research, and idea commercialisation.

Winners, from left: Tan Wei Lun, Tan Tar Wei and Leong Qi Ye

According to the team, advanced battery technologies play a pivotal role in diverse applications, such as smartphones, renewable energy storage, and electric vehicles. These technologies heavily rely on batteries to function efficiently. Given the finite nature of battery materials, proper battery usage becomes crucial, as suboptimal charging and discharging can lead to premature battery degradation. In response to this issue, the team introduced a flexible and battery-friendly charging solution tailored for all AGVs, irrespective of battery type or power rating. Notably, it incorporates discharging protection mechanisms to shield batteries from harmful current spikes.

The trio said, “Presently, there are limited expertise and skilled workforce in battery management for automated guided vehicles (AGV), and we depend on developed countries for solutions. Our invention opened the door by building and managing an in-house solution in the relevant fields, which can lead to the development of specialised skills within the local workforce.”

Announcement of winner for IR 4.0 Applications Track

The team received RM5,000 cash prize, a digital badge from Dream Catcher and an award certificate as their winning prizes.

They said, “We joined the competition to test our potential in driving innovation and to creating positive change in the world using our engineering skills. Winning this competition has filled us with an immeasurable amount of happiness and a profound sense of gratitude for those who lent us a hand throughout the competition.”

“We would like to express our gratitude to Dr Hau Lee Cheun and Ir Dr Danny Ng Wee Kiat for their supervision, advice, and technical guidance. We would also like to thank Edison Wong Yee Hang and Lee Min Shen for their support and help in testing our prototype. Last but not least, we appreciate UTAR for providing us a platform to gain the essential skills and knowledge required to excel in this competition,” they enthused.

The certificates of award won by the winners

Innovate Malaysia Design Competition

Innovate Malaysia Design Competition is the largest design competition in Malaysia, open to all third-year or final-year degree engineering, computer science, IT, and science/mathematics students. The goal of the competition is to promote innovative culture in engineering design work, tackle real-world problems with practical engineering solutions, and churn out the brightest talents for product development, further research, and commercialisation.

This year’s competition received 194 teams from 22 universities nationwide. They signed up to participate in the competition’s various technology domains and application areas, including IC Design, Embedded System Design, IR 4.0 Applications, Data Analytics & AI Applications, and Cloud, Web & Mobile Apps Design. A total of 25 teams were shortlisted as finalist teams to compete during the event for multiple prizes offered by the industry as well as engineering professional bodies.