Blurb from the author: When I grew up in Sarawak, I often heard from adults that Sarawak was too slow to have good employment opportunities or even innovations. Now, however, I am beginning to realize that it may not be true and that my hometown has a lot to offer. People just don't notice it yet.
Chai Kok Chin or KC is
a researcher with a doctorate in electronics and computers, also from
Sarawak, and he realized that he could help our homeland to thrive
with AI.
During his years of research, he understood the gap between science and industry. He explained: “Much of our outstanding research is always kept in the library, laboratory or archive. It is not being publicly introduced and made available to industry because most researchers focus on academic publications rather than real industry applications. "
That's how he found it
indispensable to close the gap between the two and to advance research results
and benefit the industries, which overall contributes to greater technology growth
within Malaysia.
After KC and its co-founders Marcus and Yang Loong received support from contacts and research institutes, they founded NEUON AI Sdn Bhd (NEUON) in December 2018.
You aim at it
revolutionize local industries, particularly in production, agriculture and
System management by introducing their technology in computer vision, machine
Learn and IoT.
Use AI for 3
Different industries
NEUON is currently
Work on multiple products and services, one of which is interactive and
Intelligence advertising platform called NEUON-BOX with intelligent advertising
Management system (SAMS) ready for use in shopping centers and tourists
Spots, airports and more.
With AI face recognition technology, NEUON-BOX helps advertisers reach their target group by identifying viewer preferences based on facial demography. In this way, they can also create interactive advertising to draw the attention of passers-by.
Photo credit: NEUON
You work too
on a plantation management system consisting of two modules, Center of Crop
Disease Control (CCDC) and Center of Precision Farming (CPF).
CCDC is a solution
Here the farmers only have to capture and upload a picture of their farm
your smartphone. The AI platform then recognizes problems and offers
Instructions such as symptom descriptions, possible treatments and preventive
Dimensions.
For her work with CCDC,
They won the first three prizes at the International Plant Recognition
Competition (plant CLEF2019) in France and were selected as official employees
the Pl @ ntNet app, an AI tool for identifying plants with pictures.
CPF is now able to
automated detection, counting, inspection, monitoring and more with
the help of a local remote sensing specialist. It is currently being deployed
Helping local authorities and businesses monitor their palm oil deposits.
After all, she too
offer a customizable ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system to help businesses
with the digitization of transactions and task records.
Help out
homeland
So it is clear that
Sarawak has its own technological advances, but often you would
Hear from companies moving to more urbanized areas to develop an idea.
About the reason why NEUON decided to start in Sarawak, KC said that it believed that the state needed to keep its own talents and create opportunities for advancement.
"We have many talents
In Sarawak, however, they are forced to leave their hometown due to the limited number
Employment opportunities, especially in advanced technologies like AI. As a result,
Sarawak is hardly outstanding in terms of Industry 4.0, ”he said.
By doing what you do
NEUON works in line with the government's vision for Sarawaks Digital
Economy and government support in creating talent retention opportunities.
A session to exchange knowledge from NEUON / Image Credit: NEUON
In addition, KC said
If NEUON were located in West Malaysia, it would be a competitive scene.
Compare that to Sarawak, where they have the ability to serve a niche
the local market.
With the Sarawak
It is also anticipated that many industries will start
Converting your business from work-oriented manufacturing lines to technology
oriented production.
Here is NEUON
can help achieve this vision and share their expertise
Technology and AI.
The state is already moving
Little by little from childhood to become an intelligent community as you can see
how courts in Sarawak should use AI to help judges with guidelines and
Analyzes, IoT for intelligent agriculture in Rampangi and the development of
cashless initiatives like Sarawak Pay to name a few.
More options
For growth
Although NEUON has customers in both West Malaysia and Sarawak, the priority is currently with local customers in Sarawak.
KC and his team plan
To lead NEUON in both horizontal and vertical growth. “We aim for the horizontal
to expand our technology to new markets, which enables us to continue to improve and
strengthen our technology in vertical growth. "
“For example, our facial recognition technology is being used for the first time in NEUON-BOX for interactive and intelligence marketing initiatives. We are currently applying it to attendance systems and access controls, ”he said.
It will be you
Strengthen their face detection algorithm to be more robust
also against changes in the environment.
NEUON also wants to inspire
Promotion and training of local talents for the journey of Sarawak
Advanced and intelligent community.
"Last but not least, we are trying to commercialize our solutions and improve the visibility of the business," said KC, welcoming those who share the same vision to reach and join them.
Bottom line: I may not live in Sarawak anymore, but when I see East Malaysian startups break out of shape and stereotypes (which even their own community sometimes believes in) make me proud again and again.
- You can read about other Malaysian startups here.
Selected image source: NEUON
