CYBERJAYA, 11 August 2016 – The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) and Cyberview Sdn Bhd – the Cyberjaya Tech Hub Enabler – together with The Things Network Netherlands and Pixaworks Creative Sdn Bhd recently successfully completed a 24-hour Internet of Things (IoT) hackathon known as JomHack: IoT for Smart Cities with LoRa.
Held from 5-7th August at the Cyberview Living Lab in Cyberjaya, the event saw 30 teams, each comprising three members with various computer programming, application development and engineering backgrounds, collaborate and develop usable IoT solutions which can be adopted and implemented in Cyberjaya, within the allocated 24 hours.
Commenting on the inaugural 2016 event, Dato’ Yasmin Mahmood, Chief Executive Officer, MDEC said, “The IoT represents the next frontier of Information Technology, with tremendous new capabilities waiting to be explored. With JomHack, we are a step closer to transforming the nation and fundamentally reshaping the way our cities operate. Through the partnership with Cyberview Living Lab, The Things Network and the ideas we see brought to life by the participants, we look forward to planning the future of our connected Malaysia.”
Ten winning projects were shortlisted with the top three teams selected as grand winners based on their ability to build IoT solutions around the “Smart Cities” theme, real-world application, innovation and individual capabilities of the teams:
| Winners | Project | Team members | Cash Prize |
| Champion | Water Leakage Detection System | · Leong Yok Tien
· Ng Kok Kwan · Adel Maratova |
RM5,000 |
| 1st runner up | Water Quality Monitoring Application | · Muhammad Amin Bin Ab Halim
· Mohd Syakiruddin Bin Yusof · Muhammad Nor Sabrie Bin Johari |
RM2,000 |
| 2nd runner up | Smart Car Park Management System | · Darween Reza Bin Sabri
· Kok Chee Khean · Shee Tze Jin |
RM1,000 |
Seven other winners from the top ten received RM300 as consolation prizes.
For 28-year old startup founder Leong Yok Tien, the win was a pleasant surprise to him and the team, “It’s an honour for us to be recognised at this hackathon, given the brilliance showcased by the participants here. With our project, we hope this would soon address the common yet critical water leakage problems in our country, and we look forward to seeing the related parties adopting our solution in real-life application.”
Participants also made use of Long Range (LoRa) technology – a signal modulation technique that provides long-range communication link for low-power wide-area network which can reach up to 2-3 km in urban areas and over 15 km in sub-urban areas. The technology was provided by The Things Network (TTN) Netherland – a global, open, crowd-sourced Internet of Things data network with over 200 communities worldwide.
Johan Stokking, co-founder and technology lead of the TTN said at the judging ceremony that he was largely impressed with the determination and innovation presented despite the time constraint for the participants. He enthused, “Part of becoming a smarter city involves setting up the right opportunity and infrastructure that invites community participation. JomHack certainly hit its mark with these brilliant pitches from its very talented community from all over the country. I’m happy to surmise that everyone here is without a doubt, the best group of hackathon participants I have ever seen.”
Sharing his thoughts on JomHack, Mahadhir Aziz, Head of Technology Hub Development Division, Cyberview Sdn Bhd said, “Innovation is at the heart of daily life here in Cyberjaya. As Malaysia’s Capital of Creation, we are beyond excited to have played host to such a prestigious event. Through this collaboration with MDEC and The Things Network Netherland, we are proud to be part of a movement that could improve the living experience of the community in the long term. We hope that these ideas will be developed to become enablers and key elements of our smart city vision that is driven by a culture of innovation and supported by unparalleled connectivity, sustainability, security and liveability.”
JomHack: Smart Cities with LoRa was sponsored by Atilze Digital Sdn Bhd, DekatKu Sdn Bhd, 3ciety Sdn Bhd, System Consultancy Services Sdn Bhd, and Gain Secure Sdn Bhd.