Reindeer tracking in remote snow using IoT and advanced wireless communication techniques for overcoming space communication delays were highlights of the extreme communication workshop at the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste, Italy. As a Research Associate at the Marconi Lab in ICTP since 2022, I, Professor Ir. Dr Rosdiadee Nordin had the opportunity to be part of their global network to further advance wireless IoT research for the developing region. Can you spot me in the group photo? The workshop was attended by 42 researchers across the world to share our best practices and ideas to further advance wireless communication research.

The workshop was an eye-opener to me as part of a broader mission to push the boundaries of wireless communication and Internet of Things (IoT) research to connect unconnected populations. The Internet is part of our basic needs in today’s age of digitalisation. Unfortunately, in certain parts of the developing region, there are still underserved populations without basic Internet since dedicated wireless communication infrastructures are expensive to deploy in a sparsely populated rural region with few populations. But this is where the innovation lies – in this case, innovative wireless communication techniques!

During the workshop, I had the opportunity to share my past project on LoRa wireless on a tethered helium balloon, aimed at rural water quality monitoring. The codename given for our IoT prototype is AIN (Airborne IoT Network). We deployed this baloon at Tasik Chini, Pahang to demonstrate the long-range wireless coverage of tropical forests. Little did I know this project, which initially faced various setbacks & challenges, apparently caught the interest of Prof. Mohamed-Slim Alouini from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), who also attended the workshop.

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Prof. Mohamed-Slim Alouini, simply known as ‘Prof. Slim’, is considered among the most prominent figures in the wireless research community. He holds the UNESCO Chair in Education to Connect the Unconnected. He shares a similar interest to ours in experimenting with innovative and extreme wireless communication techniques that can help connect the unconnected society or smart objects/sensors for new IoT applications.

This opened another research journey that took me to Thuwal, Saudia Arabia, where I had the privilege of visiting Prof. Slim at the beautiful & unique KAUST campus. This visit was especially memorable, coinciding with the holy month of Ramadhan and after a few weeks of joining the School of Engineering and Technology! I was also happy with the opportunity to reunite with my former colleagues from the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and my wireless padawan, Dr Haider Al-Obaidy, who is now establishing his footprint as a young academic at Al-Nahrain University, Baghdad, Iraq. 

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During my visit to KAUST, we had the opportunity to discuss and collaborate further on several research projects that aim to solve global challenges. We also had the chance to visit Prof Slim’s Communication Theory Lab, which is occupied with hi-tech measurement equipment and advanced wireless simulation software – trust me, there’s little ‘theory’ in his lab!

As I return to Sunway University, I’m rethinking how my wireless research can fulfil the needs of the societies residing in Bandar Sunway. Thanks to Research Services - I will start my new research journey with a seed fund under the Research Accelerator Grant Scheme (RAGS) that allows our team to collect wireless datasets and investigate the current state of Internet connectivity in this smart city. The next one-year journey will focus on investigating the wireless network performance that can unlock various IoT applications to allow Bandar Sunway to be the leader of the smart city in our region.

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The journey was indeed a humbling experience and brought a renewed sense of purpose to my new career at Sunway University. The journey from Trieste, Italy, to Thuwal, Saudi Arabia, and now to Bandar Sunway has been filled with learning, collaboration, and inspiration. I am excited about the wireless journey ahead and the impact we can make in connecting the unconnected across the globe.  

Professor Ir. Dr Rosdiadee Nordin
School of Engineering and Technology
Email: @email