KUCHING: The Borneo International Drone and Robotics Explore (Drobotex) 2019 will be held at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) here from Oct 4 to 6.
The three-day exhibition, from 10am to 5pm daily, is organised by the Sarawak government through Tabung Ekonomi Gagasan Anak Bumipulera Sarawak (Tegas) and Sarawak Mulfimedia Authority (SMA) in collaboration with various agencies.
Urban Development and Resources assistant minister Datuk Len Talif Salleh told a press conference at BCCK yesterday that Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg would launch the event on Oct 4 at 9am.
The event, he revealed, would bring together 23 partners and exhibitors from three main industries, namely drone, robotics and digital innovation.
“Among the partners and exhibitors are UITM Sarawak, PPKS/ICATS, Unit Drone Angkatan Pertahanan Awam Malaysia (APM), Kinabalu ldeas Exchange, UAS and Robotics Academy, HDU Drone Academy Malaysia, Digital Economy Hub, The Learning Curve (TLC), Aerodyne Kenyalang and Rero/Vincenzo Labs,” Len said.
Apart from the amazing exhibits, there will be six talks and 25 workshops on topics such as an introduction to drone operation, aerial drone safety and laws in Malaysia, drone pilot careers, exploring the Internet of Things (loT), autonomous drone programming, scratch programming for mBot, Hackathon and Coding Game: Battle of Bots.
Other than that, he also mentioned that there would be a participation of 97 teams from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei Singapore and Philippines to take part in five main competitions besides the Junior Innovate Challenge (JIC) namely: Line Follower Race; Maze Solver Challenge; Drone Obstacle Race; Drone Delivery Service and Tiny Whoop Drone Race.
On drobotex, Len explained that it comprised three components — drone, robotics and digital technology.
“Admission to the inaugural event in Sarawak is free for the public. It will expose visitors, students and community into the world of new emerging technologies.
“The organisers are looking forward to participants from schools, institutions of higher learning and neighbouring countries such as Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand. There are various activities related to drone, robotics and digital innovation in store for them,” added the assistant minister.
He explained that the objectives of the exhibition were to develop a new pool of talents in digital skills and enhance students’ experiential learning outside classroom.
“Bridging the gap on new technology and future possibilities is important as we all know that the drone technology and digital economy are advancing rapidly. That is why we have to keep tabs on the latest development in the market.”
Another objective of the exhibition, he added, was to promote Sarawak as a key player in digital innovation in Borneo and in Malaysia.
“We are already far ahead of the other states. Recently, the Economic Affairs Minister talked about digital smart farming system while we, in Sarawak, have been talking about it for the past two years, as well as developing initiatives towards it.
“This proves that Sarawak is very advanced with the developing of the state’s digital economy, digital innovations and others. Therefore, it is important that the state is seen as a pioneer for this digital economy, drone initiative and robotics programme,” said Len.
