Bentley honours UTM team for innovative use of g-tech
Johor Baru, Malaysia: Taps in neighbourhoods have been known to run dry because of burst water pipes during excavations. Now, two Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) students developed a 3D modelling procedure to solve the problem.
During the annual Bentley Student Design Competition, Uznir Ujang, 29, and his wife Suhaibah Azri, 27, bagged the top prize in the “unique ways of solving a problem with GIS technology” category. They emerged as winner of the Bentley Student Design Competition, amongst 100 international participants.
It was also the first time the award was won by Malaysians in the 15 years of the infrastructure software design competition, which previously saw winners from countries such as China, India and Russia.
Uznir Ujang, 29, said he and his wife Suhaibah Azri, 27, created a 3D software model to enable users such as utility, telecommunications and pipeline companies to accurately retrieve information like pipeline depth, intersection and distances.
He said it took them more than four months to work on the design, which won the top prize under the category for unique ways of solving a problem with GIS technology. “Our design was based on real data provided by utility, telecommunications and pipeline companies. The software can be used to lessen the risk of damaging underground cables and pipes when carrying out maintenance or installation works,” Uznir said after the prize-giving ceremony in UTM Skudai.
“We were very focused on the project, which took about MYR 200,000 (MYR: Malaysian Ringgit) to design, and we also spent a lot of time discussing and brainstorming in the research lab, as well as in the bedroom,” he quipped.
The couple walked away with USD 2,000 (MYR 6,300) and a trophy while UTM was awarded a year of free unlimited subscription to more than 50 of Bentley’s infrastructure products, including traffic, bridges and road design software.
Bentley Southeast Asia-Pacific academic director Ivy Branson said Uznir and Suhaibah’s design was outstanding and beyond the judges’ expectations. “We were surprised that their design was in 3D, which is used widely in the industry but seldom by students,” she said.
Source : The Star