KUCHING – A drain water monitoring prototype created by team D-Boiz, a group of students from Lodge International School, has officially been adopted by Swinburne at a recent virtual launch event hosted by the university.
Present to launch the D-Monitor refined prototype were Chief Executive Officer of Yayasan Sime Darby Dr Hajjah Yatela Zainal Abidin; Swinburne’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Director Professor John Wilson; Swinburne’s Deputy Head of School of Engineering Dr Chua Hong Siang; Principal of Lodge International School Matthew Wee; and team members Nicholas Chua Yan Zhen, Truman Lo Jun Wen and Rothman Lo Le Wen.
The D-Monitor that won 2nd prize at the Sime Darby Young Innovators Challenge 2018 is a device that could potentially assist local community residing in low-lying areas to be better prepared for flash flood. Equipped with multiple sensors, the device monitors water level in drains and can easily identify which part of the drain is blocked. It also sends data to the Cloud which allows information regarding the water level of the drains to be assessed from any locations as long as the device is connected to Internet.
According to the Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance, flood is the most common natural disaster in the country and it accounts for the most frequent and significant damage. Another research conducted in 2014 reported that 29,800 square kilometres or 9% of total areas in Malaysia are vulnerable to flood disaster. This potentially affects almost 4.82 million people or 15% of the country’s population.
The construction of D-Monitor prototype is made possible with an innovation grant worth RM5,000 by Yayasan Sime Darby, and support from technical partners Chumbaka and Swinburne.
Launched in 2013, the Young Innovators Challenge is a youth innovation programme designed to help youth in Malaysia develop leadership and problem solving skills. Today, the competition is participated by more than 300 secondary schools involving over 5,000 students with more than 1,000 innovative projects. Currently, it is hosted by Yayasan Sime Darby, and supported by Ministry of Education Malaysia with strategic partners MDEC and Chumbaka, and 12 partner universities from all over Malaysia.
Swinburne Sarawak is currently offering the Start With Zero Fees Programme to new commencing students. The exclusive programme is applicable for October 2020 intake only and entitles students to a two-week free trial classes at Swinburne’s Sarawak campus where students have the opportunity to adapt and experience the university’s teaching and learning style. Classes for Foundation and Degree programmes commence on 5 October and 12 October respectively.
