Technical Visit to IIUM Centre of Unmanned Technologies, International Islamic University Malaysia

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The ICT Special Interest Group (ICTSIG) organised a technical visit to the Centre of Unmanned Technologies (CUTe) at the International Islamic University Malaysia on 8 March 2023.

CUTe is designed for advancing scientific studies and engineering development through human-robot collaboration. It was established through the collaboration of the Ministry of Investment, Trade & Industry (MITI), the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) and the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM).

Located in the Faculty of Engineering in IIUM Gombak, Selangor, its main function is to bridge the gap between researchers, industries and communities by developing and innovating unmanned technologies which can reduce human participation. CUTe is positioned to collaborate with industries in the areas of small/large scale prototype systems and validation of the unmanned system through system demonstration in real field. Figure 1 shows its Industry Academia Collaboration model.

All projects developed in CUTe are partnerships with local engineering corporations which aim to commercialise the system. The group from IEM visited the Unmanned Surface Vessel systems where unmanned boats or surface vessels were designed and developed through strategic collaboration with Hydrokinetik Technologies Sdn. Bhd. for an innovative autonomous survey vessel. Prior to this, surveys were done by humans using equipment on boats but these surveys were limited by weather conditions. The collaboration innovates the survey techniques by incorporating autonomous navigation system, obstacle avoidance and collision avoidance. The autonomous survey vessel is powered by electricity as a sustainable and environmentally friendly solution. Using the real time monitoring system, survey data can be collected in real time with accurate control and precise data. The survey can be conducted at any time (day or night) and in all weather conditions, including rain.

In the healthcare sector, MediBot, a robotic assistant for healthcare service providers during the Covid-19 pandemic was developed. MediBot helps healthcare workers and doctors interact with patients and takes noninvasive measurement of the patients.

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Another project was an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for Hajj-crowd surveillance, a project carried out in cooperation with Saudi Arabia. There are many potential areas and opportunities for implementing smart and unmanned systems which can replace humans in risky and dangerous work such as traffic and toll management, environmental monitoring in risky areas in the oil and gas industry, healthcare services, food securities, plantation industries and defence & security.

The IEM group also visited other facilities in CUTe, including the Embedded AI lab, Maritime Robotic Lab, Aerial Robotic Lab, human machine interface and CNC machining facilities. The visit ended with token of appreciation handed over by Ir. Amir, Chairman of ICTSIG.

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