Publication in Newton-Ungku Omar Fund report

Moving forward with positive progress, the collaborative research project between UTAR and University of Strathclyde (UoS) United Kingdom (UK) has made another step as the project was published in the Newton-Ungku Omar Fund impact report.

Winning the grant from the Newton-Ungku Omar Fund has enabled UTAR Department of Computer and Communication Technology Head Dr Goh Hock Guan, who is also the Principal Investigator, and his team, together with the UK experts, to contribute in promoting the economic development and social welfare of Malaysia.

The joint research team is currently bidding for the Newton-Ungku Omar Research and Innovation Bridges Competition Fund that will help expand the research for public showcasing and commercialisation.

Citing from pages 32 to 33 of the report, the research project was highlighted in the category of Future Cities. With the plan to find effective solution to grow and distribute organic food within the cities, the research project focuses on having crops grown in well-controlled indoors environments, and using sensor, wireless and cloud technology to distribute the crops. Dr Goh mentioned that the idea was to improve the urban lives through the data gathered from information technology.

One of the aspirations of the research team is to implement the research project in major cities of Malaysia, such as Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, and Penang. “We can use idle spaces within cities such as Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Johor Bahru to grow food, this will reduce delivery cost and carbon footprint to transport food from outside the city. And by using cloud and analytic technology, we can build an intelligent transportation system to find the best routes to distribute the fresh produce”, explained Dr Goh from the report.

“It is truly an honour and recognition to UTAR for having the research project published in the report. I hope, with this continuous support, the project can be used for commercialization. Currently, we have already managed to produce vegetables in the indoor environment at our UTAR lab,” commented Dr Goh.

The research project was also previously presented to local and international public in the International Workshop of Sustainable Future Cities (IWSFC) in Kuala Lumpur on 2 March 2016. Involved in organising the IWSFC were UTAR, UoS, and Sunway University Malaysia, where IWSFC Honorary Chair and UTAR President Ir Prof Academician Dato’ Dr Chuah Hean Teik, British Council Malaysia Newton Programmes Manager Liew Siew Hui; Newton Fund Programme Manager Izza Ismail and Science and Innovation Officer Lee Ching Heong; and IWSFC Organising Chairman and UTAR Faculty of Information and Communication Technology (FICT) Dean Dr Liew Soung Yue were present. At the IWSFC, Dr Liew also said that these sustainable plans for the cities are able to solve issues like overpopulation, congestion, and resource scarcity. He also mentioned that UTAR has been actively working on research projects relating to Sustainable Cities and hopes to see more collaborative efforts with other universities and industries.

Read the published report here. 

Principal investigator Dr Goh

Newton-Ungku Omar Fund impact report

Pages 32 and 33 of the published research project

Research plants being grown in controlled indoor environment

Plants successfully grown in indoor environment

Transportation simulation program for delivery purpose