Overview

The Malaysian oil palm industry, the world's second largest, is facing critical labour shortages due to COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in significant economic losses from unharvested palm bunches left to rot. This discussion explores how robotics and AI can alleviate this crisis, focusing on technical barriers and initiatives in various application areas.

Speaker

Dr Thinal Raj, Senior UGV Software Engineer, Group Digital, Robotics & Products Development, Sime Darby Plantation

Dr Thinal Raj is currently working as a senior UGV software engineer at the Sime Darby Plantation Berhad, Malaysia within the group digital. He has a BEng in communication and computer engineering and a PhD in electrical, electronics and systems engineering from The National University of Malaysia (UKM). During his research activity at UKM, he worked in the field of signal processing and artificial intelligence, with special attention given to the development of in-situ ripeness detection for oil palm fruits. He has published high impact scientific papers in the field of LiDAR and oil palm ripeness detection. His current interests and activity focus on the development of software suites for field robots.

The material presented in this webinar has not been peer-reviewed. Any opinions are the presenter’s own and do not necessarily represent those of IChemE or the Palm Oil Processing Special Interest Group. The information is given in good faith but without any liability on the part of IChemE.