KUCHING: Swinburne’s multimedia design lecturer John Hii was extremely excited and honoured when given the opportunity to showcase the Microsoft HoloLens technology to Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad at the recent 5G Malaysia Showcase in Putrajaya.
Held at Putrajaya’s Kompleks Perbadanan the 5G Malaysia Showcase aimed to highlight the potential of 5G where the public had the chance to gain first-hand user experience from demonstrations by local and international organisations.
As the advisor and mentor to Trifold X Sdn Bhd under the Malaysian Global Innovation and Creative Centre (MaGIC) mentorship programme, Hii teamed up with Trifold X and Digi at the event to showcase Immersive Learning via Mixed Reality (MR) application. Trifold X is a company established by alumni of Swinburne’s Sarawak campus.
At the showcase, Hii demonstrated the use of Microsoft HoloLens Mixed Reality content related to real time problem solving where a car engine was dismantled part by part holographically.
Via the 5G high speed network, it brings together employees in multiple remote locations with real-time view to troubleshoot problems efficiently and cost effectively, said a statement from Swinburne University Technology Sarawak.
“With research interests in the field of multimedia technology design and blended learning in mobile and social networking, Hii has years of experience in teaching and multimedia industry.
“His current areas of teaching include Final Year Capstone Project Digital Media Design and Video Compositing.
“In the past, Hii has collaborated with leading companies and government agencies such as Microsoft, Google, Nokia, Malaysian Global Innovation and Creative Centre (MaGIC), SMA-TEGAS, Petrosains, Sarawak Tourism Board, Sarawak Museum, and Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC).
“He has also mentored Swinburne’s students and alumni in various competitions including the Microsoft Imagine Cup 2015 where the university’s design students represented Malaysia in the world finals held in Seattle, Washington,” said the statement.
Some of the real-life applications that were showcased included remote surgery (healthcare), virtual e-sports (media and entertainment), immersive learning (education), smart energy (smart cities), agribots (agriculture), autonomous vehicles (automotive), smart surveillance (public safety), and smart factories (manufacturing).
Among the participating companies and institutions of higher learning during the showcase were Maxis, Digi, Celcom, TM, U Mobile, Huawei, Nokia, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, and Malaysia Automotive, Robotics and IoT Institute.
