THOUSANDS of residents in the Pasir Gudang area in Johor were affected and 111 schools in the area were temporarily closed last year (2019) due to the toxic pollution in Sungai Kim Kim.
The Environment, Science, Technology and Climate Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin was quoted as saying that the cost for cleaning up pollutants from the 1.5km stretch of Sungai Kim Kim was approximately RM6.4 million.
The Sungai Kim Kim incident triggered a team of students from Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) to develop a river pollution monitoring system to detect early signs of river pollution before it worsens.
Under the guidance from their lecturer-cum-project adviser Danny Ng, the team members Lim Wen Qing, Yap Sheng Yao, 22, Tan Kai Siang, 23, Au Jin Cheng, 22, and Khor Jun Bin strived to turn their ideas into a product.
The team did not only develop a prototype; they even took part in the Keysight IoT Innovation Challenge international competition and emerged champion in the category that they competed in!
Some 300 teams, comprised PhD students and undergraduates from around the world, participated in the competition. Among those who took part were from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University and Massey University.
The competition had two tracks – the Smart Land challenge and the Smart Water challenge. The team from UTAR contested in the Smart Water challenge.
Their project for the competition was called ‘IoT Detachable Waterway Monitoring Device with LoRa and Self-Sustainability’.
Ng said the sensor of the prototype could detect several key parameters such as the pH reading, conductivity and total dissolved solid of the liquid.
“These parameters and several others can be indicators of pollution,” he told Buletin Mutiara after a sharing session at the Penang Digital Library Phase Two today.
Lim, 22, said their device was designed to monitor water quality in a large scale.
“Theoretically, it does not have a limit its the monitoring area. The data collected from the device will be sent to the cloud to be analysed.
“Alarm will be raised should there be any abnormalities in the data. The relevant authorities will be alerted for immediate action.
“Prompt action can prevent any water pollution from spreading and help to save cost,” he said.
Lim said the prototype, measuring 85cm by 89cm by 70cm, floats on water and has a sensor which is submerged in water.
Khor, 23, said the team was surprised to be one of the six teams in the final when the results were announced in June last year (2019).
“The finalists were supposed to develop a prototype of the device they proposed in the qualifying round,” he said.
Lim said the team was given about three months to develop the prototype and conduct a pilot trial.
“It was challenging for us during that period because we had to attend our classes, sit for exams and work on the prototype,” he added.
The team from UTAR bagged first prize in the Smart Water challenge and garnered a prize of US$25,000 cash (RM101,737) and US$25,000 of select Keysight Technologies test equipment.
Meanwhile, the team from Massey University, New Zealand won first in the Smart Land challenge.
The grand prize winner was the team from Stanford University, United States, that took part in the Smart Water category.
The winners were awarded in New York on Sept 21 last year (2019).
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, who visited the Penang Digital Library Phase Two today, congratulated the students for their success.
He also had a meeting with Keysight Technologies chairman, president and chief executive officer Ron Nersesian, chief technology officer Jay Alexander, Keysight’s Electronic Industrial Solutions Group president Datuk Gooi Soon Chai and other distinguished personnel of Keysight.
Later, Chow joined Chief Minister Incorporated deputy general manager S. Bharathi and her team in a cake-cutting ceremony to mark the Penang Digital Library Phase Two first year anniversary.
Story by Christopher Tan
Pix by Ahmad Adil Muhamad