Tuesday, 02 August 2011 16:18
By Abdul Ghani NasirPics by Saliman LemanNUSAJAYA, 2 August 2011 – From far, the duck coop of vegetable farmer Zamberi Abu Hassan, 43, looks just like any other – built with planks and half covered with wire gauze and the roof formed by rusting zinc sheets.
However, with expertise from UKM’s Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment (FEBE) in Bangi, the interior of the small shack has been transformed into a high technology coop – within a day and relieving its owner of a huge burden.
UKM brought its micro-controller project to Kampung Bukit Tempurung, at Gelang Patah, Nusajaya, and installed the miniature components at the coop housing the Khaki Cambell variety of ducks which are very sensitive to the way they are tended to.
The Head of the Electrical, Electronics and Systems Engineering Department at FEBE, Associate Professor Dr Hafizah Hussein, said the hi-tech components installed have four functions:
· Regulate the eating schedule – a special trough installed with microchip controllers automatically pours grains from a machine three times daily according to a set schedule.
· Lighting is controlled - sensors are used to detect the amount of daylight so that bulbs glow to provide an extra four hours of light after sundown.
· Deliver water supply when necessary – the programming of the micro-chips enable them to check on the availability of water in the pen and increase the supply from a water drum.
· Keep away rodents – sensors are used to detect the presence of mice, iguana and monkeys, with special equipment installed to repel them.
It all started when Muhamad Amirul bin Zamberi, 17, a Form Five student at the Taman Nusa Jaya National Secondary School, found that every time his father leaves the farm to sell vegetables around Gelang Patah, his egg-laying ducks are left unsupervised, resulting in overfeeding, not being fed at regular times and at times lacking water.
It so happened that at that particular time, FEBE UKM, with the cooperation of UEMLand, was launching Micro-Controller Mentoring Program at Schools: An Initiative to Develop an Innovative Mindset Among Students at the school. The staff of the UKM Faculty of Information Science and Technology were invited to contribute their expertise.
“In general, the project aims to develop an innovative culture among the younger generation through the multi-prong usage of micro controller chip technology,” said Dr Hafizah.
“Micro controller chips are easily programmed using computers. By connecting them to certain equipment, they can be programmed to carry out various tasks automatically, whether for toys or real applications in industries.
“In fact, their potential is limitless and depends entirely on the creativity of the students.
“Besides inculcating a creative and innovative mindset, students get the chance to explore technology which are not taught in the classroom, thus encouraging them to be more gainfully occupied in their spare time and keep them away from being involved in wayward activities.
“UKM undergraduates act as mentors and help the students in programming the microchip controllers,” she added.
At the school, the “i-itik” (e-ducks) project costing less than RM2,000 is headed by Amirul and three of his colleagues, also from Form Five - Raja Nurhayati binti Raja Mohamed, Sayangku Mahsuri binti Mohd Ali and Zuraini binti Zainuddin. The project was launched under the supervision of Senior Teacher Technical and Vocational Subjects, Siti Norittah binti Ahmad.
Raja Nurhayati said what is so special about the 20 ducks owned by Amirul’s father is that the Khaki Cambell variety is imported and used solely for laying eggs to be sold in the market.
The ducks can lay about 20 eggs a day and in a month supply about 600 eggs, but to ensure this, all the four functions need to be fully automated, hence the use of the micro controller chips.
Zamberi’s close observations showed that if he served a large basin of grain – meant to last the whole day - each morning, the ducks finished it immediately, meaning that they had no food in the afternoon and evenings when no one was around to tend to them. Likewise the flow of water; the ducks sometimes consumed more earlier in the day and the supply ran out towards late afternoon.
The situation used to get out of hand since Zamberi has to leave the farm to sell vegetables in the kampung or at the market while Amirul and his younger siblings are away at school.
What saddened Zamberi and Amirul was their inability to tend to the ducks regularly, which usually resulted in fewer eggs being laid since the ducks become stressful. Sometimes the ducks just move around without laying eggs for a week, especially if they spot mice around the coop.
Hence, it became clear that the grain needed to be dispensed at regular times, and this could now be done by using the microchip controllers. With the help of their UKM mentors, the four students managed to build a cereal dispenser that releases the grain at precisely 7 in the morning, in the afternoon and by night fall.
As the ducks require 16 hours of daylight a day, the extra four hours after sunset come from lamps with a computerised switch that come on just prior to full sunset.
It so happened that at that particular time, FEBE UKM, with the cooperation of UEMLand, was launching Micro-Controller Mentoring Program at Schools: An Initiative to Develop an Innovative Mindset Among Students at the school. The staff of the UKM Faculty of Information Science and Technology were invited to contribute their expertise.
“In general, the project aims to develop an innovative culture among the younger generation through the multi-prong usage of micro controller chip technology,” said Dr Hafizah.
“Micro controller chips are easily programmed using computers. By connecting them to certain equipment, they can be programmed to carry out various tasks automatically, whether for toys or real applications in industries.
“In fact, their potential is limitless and depends entirely on the creativity of the students.
“Besides inculcating a creative and innovative mindset, students get the chance to explore technology which are not taught in the classroom, thus encouraging them to be more gainfully occupied in their spare time and keep them away from being involved in wayward activities.
“UKM undergraduates act as mentors and help the students in programming the microchip controllers,” she added.
At the school, the “i-itik” (e-ducks) project costing less than RM2,000 is headed by Amirul and three of his colleagues, also from Form Five - Raja Nurhayati binti Raja Mohamed, Sayangku Mahsuri binti Mohd Ali and Zuraini binti Zainuddin. The project was launched under the supervision of Senior Teacher Technical and Vocational Subjects, Siti Norittah binti Ahmad.
Raja Nurhayati said what is so special about the 20 ducks owned by Amirul’s father is that the Khaki Cambell variety is imported and used solely for laying eggs to be sold in the market.
The ducks can lay about 20 eggs a day and in a month supply about 600 eggs, but to ensure this, all the four functions need to be fully automated, hence the use of the micro controller chips.
Zamberi’s close observations showed that if he served a large basin of grain – meant to last the whole day - each morning, the ducks finished it immediately, meaning that they had no food in the afternoon and evenings when no one was around to tend to them. Likewise the flow of water; the ducks sometimes consumed more earlier in the day and the supply ran out towards late afternoon.
The situation used to get out of hand since Zamberi has to leave the farm to sell vegetables in the kampung or at the market while Amirul and his younger siblings are away at school.
What saddened Zamberi and Amirul was their inability to tend to the ducks regularly, which usually resulted in fewer eggs being laid since the ducks become stressful. Sometimes the ducks just move around without laying eggs for a week, especially if they spot mice around the coop.
Hence, it became clear that the grain needed to be dispensed at regular times, and this could now be done by using the microchip controllers. With the help of their UKM mentors, the four students managed to build a cereal dispenser that releases the grain at precisely 7 in the morning, in the afternoon and by night fall.
As the ducks require 16 hours of daylight a day, the extra four hours after sunset come from lamps with a computerised switch that come on just prior to full sunset.
Dr Hafizah, Zamberi and his son Amirul, as well as the students participating in the project, hope that the use of technology can be expanded to help other farmers in the village also.
“This particular project is being closely watched because it could spur the use of similar modern technology for other farming activities as well and thus make meaningful contributions to the villagers, while for the students they still have more room and opportunity to expand the use of the microchip controllers for other equipment and innovations,” said Dr Hafizah.
“This particular project is being closely watched because it could spur the use of similar modern technology for other farming activities as well and thus make meaningful contributions to the villagers, while for the students they still have more room and opportunity to expand the use of the microchip controllers for other equipment and innovations,” said Dr Hafizah.
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