Lessons from loss
Po ly students show offtheirwinning inno vative gadge ts
GAS leaks and theft ofpersonal belongings c an result in tragedy or trauma. Two innovations by students from Kolej Poly-Tec h MARA (KPTM) Kuantan aim to provide peac e of mind for those who are potential vic tims.
For their efforts, the Diploma in Elec tric al Engineering (Elec tronic s Industry) students were rec ently rewarded with medals from the Pertandingan Reka Cipta dan Inovasi Institusi Pengajian Tinggi Swasta 2 016 (PERINTIS 2 016 ) event.
Held at its Putrajaya c ampus, this expo was a joint effort by Universiti Tenaga Nasional (U NITEN) and the Ministry ofSc ienc e, Tec hnology and Innovation (MOSTI).
Student researc hers had the opportunity to share their projec ts with manufac turers, inventors, distributors, lic ensing firms and the general public , inc luding industrial players like marketing experts, IP information suppliers, patent attorneys and tec hnology transfer firms.
The LPG Gas Leak Detec tor System using Arduino GSM Module (LPG-D) earned a gold medal for Mohamad Nazeir Saifonlizan, Siti Sofiah Ahmad Fauzi and Zarifah Afifat Jr Zulkhairi, while Mohd Shahril Azri Cik Zamakh Sari’s and Nur Hafiz Arsyad Hussin’s Handbag Anti-Theft Alarm (HATA) was awarded a bronze.
The gold medallists based their idea on newspaper reports ofgas explosion inc idents in homes as a result ofundetec ted leaks.
Department ofElec tric al Engineering And Sc ienc e head Mariam Mat Saad said that the LPG-D will send an SMS alert in the event ofa gas leak at the premises ofthe rec eiver who will then remotely c ut off the elec tric ity by sending bac k an SMS to the devic e.
“This is to prevent an explosion should someone turn on the switc h without notic ing that gas has already fully vaporised in the premises,” she said.
The HATA is an elec tronic devic e that helps prevent theft ofpersonal items like bags and purses in plac es like mosques and surau, by detec ting suspic ious movements ofthe bag.
“This produc t will sound an alarm to the user ifthere are attempts to steal the bag while she is praying,” said Mariam.
The idea for this devic e arose from KPTM Kuantan direc tor Nor Azah Azahar’s personal experienc e ofhaving her handbag stolen while she was praying in a mosque.
A grateful Nor Azah said she was happy to have c ontributed to this invention and pleased that she c an now feel sec ure and not have to worry about her belongings while praying.
She said: “Innovation and c reativity are two frequently heard words in higher educ ation.
“KPTM aims to support and enc ourage students to promote the c ulture ofinnovation as we believe this leads to entrepreneurship,” she added.
The c ompetition, whic h rec eived around 170 entries, was divided into two c ategories, one for sc hools and the other for institutions ofhigher learning.