Kuala Lumpur, 5 December 2008 - UCSI University and National Instruments (NI), a pioneer in virtual instrumentation, came together to recognise and award engineering undergraduate students for their efforts in using NI technologies to conceptualize and create innovative applications that will benefit society. Earlier this year, UCSI University’s engineering students, Mimi Iriana (Indonesia) and Joshua Tan Wai Kiat, together with their mentor and Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Built Environment, Mr. Rodney Tan Hean Gay won an honorary mention in the annual Virtual Instrumentation Applications Contest hosted by NI ASEAN.

The team managed to impress the judges with their invention, the Distance Monitoring System (DMS) which can be applied to monitor toddlers and young children through FM radio transmitters. Mimi explained that, “The DMS alerts parents when their children stray beyond a safe distance. The sensors are inserted into cute toys which can be pinned onto the child’s clothes or hung as a key-chain on the child’s bag.”

Finalists from the competition were also invited to do a short presentation on their inventions. Tan Aik Chun and Yeap Khai On presented their invention called the PortRaff, a portable system which resolves traffic congestion by replacing damaged traffic lights temporarily. Sugumeran, a final year engineering student, presented his invention which could accurately gauge the exact amount of electricity used from an electrical power point, which in turns helps users save energy.

Mr. Rodney Tan, who also works closely with UCSI University’s Center of Research Excellence (CRE) said “The NI paper contest is an excellent platform to feature our students’ projects and compete amongst the best brains in the engineering and scientific arena in South-East Asia. It is a good opportunity for our students to hone their analytical minds and cultivate their skill sets to face the challenges of tomorrow’s environment.”

“It is truly laudable that these undergraduate students are able to apply practical knowledge and classroom theories to conceptualise and create real-world applications that are beneficial to today’s tumultuous society,” said Chandran Nair, managing director for NI ASEAN. “One of National Instruments’ initiatives is to play a significant role in educating and nurturing engineering students; and the NI paper contest is a perfect avenue for those budding engineers and scientists to witness the transition of their ideas from paper to reality.”