PETROSAINS RBTX CHALLENGE 2023 TAKES INNOVATION TO THE FORE

Kuala Lumpur: A smart farming system using applications and sensors to
increase yield, income and productivity. This was the winning creation by a combination team
made up of Universiti Malaysia Perlis and SK Darulaman Height to clinch the championship of
the Innovation (Open) category at the Petrosains RBTX Challenge 2023 held at Kuala Lumpur
Convention Centre today.
Team member, Muhammad Amir Hakim B Ismail, 26, a postgraduate student in Computer
Engineering at Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) said he felt good about being able to create a
system that could help overcome the issue of lack of manpower in the farming industry today.
”This system is suitable for any kind of crop especially for fruit orchards,” said Muhammad Amir
Hakim.
The prize giving ceremony was presided over by Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Science,
Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup. Also in attendance was
Petrosains Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Ezarisma Azni Mohamad.
The Petrosains RBTX Challenge, now into its fifth year, was first introduced in 2018 by Petrosains,
The Discovery Centre, which is PETRONAS’ social impact arm for powering knowledge in STEM
(Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education. The programme has
successfully brought together robotics enthusiasts to learn, discover, and battle their robotic
creations on a common platform.
Besides encouraging innovation and higher order thinking skills, the competition is also structured
to provide participants with basic designing, coding and sensor training in robotic development
and to educate the public on the evolving digital era driven by the convergence of advanced
technologies such as robotics, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT).

In his speech, Datuk Arthur said: The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation places great
emphasis on programmes that upskill students and young people, especially in high technology
fields, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, Quantum Computing, coding and many more.
This is in line with the demand for skilled workforce in the 4th Industrial Revolution, which is a key
focus in developing the Malaysia MADANI nation.
MOSTI acknowledges the critical importance of STEM education in developing holistic resources,
complete with knowledge as well as skills of the digital era. As such, MOSTI is committed to
supporting stakeholders in contributing to the development of STEM education as a nation, for
the purpose of producing high performing individuals, who shall then be able to compete in the
global arena.”
Meanwhile, Encik Ezarisma said: ”The uniqueness of the Petrosains RBTX Challenge lies in the
use of open-source software, making the competition accessible to wider segments of society,
especially in the under-served communities.
We believe this has the potential to contribute, support and accelerate the use of science and
technology for the shared progress and prosperity of all.
We are delighted to announce that a total of 1,700 teams, comprising approximately 4,500
participants entered this year’s competition with 240 teams making it to the Grand Finals. I am
also pleased to announce that more than 10 teams are from the ASEAN region.”

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