MalaysiaGIS.com

Source: New Straits Times

THE Bell 206 Long Ranger helicopter crash near Ba’Kelalan, Sarawak two years ago, which killed seven people, is only a distant memory to most Malaysians.

But the bleak episode will forever be etched in the mind of Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) lecturer and forest engineering survey expert Professor Kamaruzaman Jusoff.

It was then that the 48-year-old first used his innovation — which he named Airborne Hyperspectral Imaging System — in a search and rescue mission.

Developed four years ago, the Airborne Hyperspectral Imaging System is essentially a sensor which is placed on an aircraft’s "belly" and used during data collection exercises.

The innovations behind it are remote sensing and geographic information systems — two of several types of geospatial information technologies.

These solutions are used to define, observe and measure anything on the face of the Earth, "from natural disasters such as the monsoon and hurricane to illegal logging, mining of sand or dumping of toxic wastes in oil palm plantations".

After more than 10 years of extensive research on satellite-based remote sensing technology, Kamaruzaman found that the technology has its flaws. One of its limitations is that it produces limited spatial and spectral resolution images due to its distance from the ground.

Eager for a more superior technology and device, the Kelantanese academic created the Airborne Hyperspectral Imaging System which produces precise and near real time images.

"The beauty of the Airborne Hyperspectral Imaging System is that we can count individual trees found even in the densest tropical rainforest. Apart from that, we can also identify healthy trees (represented by green dots) and unhealthy ones (red dots)," says Kamaruzaman.

Although the Airborne Hyperspectral Imaging System was initially created with forestry, agriculture and fisheries in mind, its features have also made Kamaruzaman’s technology crucial to search and rescue missions.

The father of five daughters is proud that the Airborne Hyperspectral Imaging System has proven to be useful in times of crises. It is a bonus to him that his blood and sweat have led to a commercial success.

The Airborne Hyperspectral Imaging System is now a product of Aeroscan Precision (M) Sdn Bhd, a company Kamaruzaman co-founded, and which is also the first business activity registered under UPM three years ago.

The company was created for practicality, says Kamaruzaman, who is its technical adviser.

"After the Airborne Hyperspectral Imaging System was created, it needed a platform ... an aircraft (to work). I could not afford the costly rent of RM4,000 for an hour’s use of a chartered plane to conduct my research. The university does not have that kind of a budget."

Although he had a good product in his hands, it was not easy for Kamaruzaman to persuade his business partner to invest in this project.

"But after much convincing, the company was formed. Now it conducts research on a contract basis for clients such as the Forestry Department of Peninsular Malaysia headquarters," he says.

When he retires, Kamaruzaman plans to be fully involved with the company. But right now, he is happy with his role as an academic and a researcher.

Every day, Kamaruzaman clocks in at 7.15am. He is usually the first to arrive at his faculty. If he is not lecturing, Kamaruzaman is engaged in research.

But this routine will be interrupted when Kamaruzaman leaves for the Netherlands next month to serve as a visiting professor at the International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC) under the Erasmus Mundus visiting professor programme for six weeks.

Not that he minds.

"I'm very proud to be invited and this is an honour for UPM, too. This bodes well for UPM’s research university status," says Kamaruzaman, who is the first Malaysian to lecture at ITC.

As a visiting professor, Kamaruzaman will teach geospatial information technology to postgraduate students at four top institutions in the field of remote sensing, namely, ITC, the University of Southampton (England), the University of Warsaw (Poland) and the University of Lund (Sweden).

"I will also develop research programmes between Malaysia and the four universities," says Kamaruzaman.

He believes that his visit to Europe will be a positive learning experience for Malaysia and the four countries.

"The issue of carbon exchange is critical not only to Malaysia but also the world. Foreign scholars are keen to discuss forest management issues because they are top on their agenda. They are curious to know how (Malaysia), for example, keeps an inventory of its tropical rainforest".

That Kamaruzaman’s paper on the Airborne’s role in the search and rescue mission in Sarawak two years ago was published in an international journal on disaster prevention and management confirms it.

For an academician with less than 20 years of experience, Kamaruzaman has accomplished a lot. For instance, at age 39, he became the youngest academician to be appointed as a professor at UPM.

Kamaruzaman is the embodiment of the exemplary academician. His success in teaching, research and commercialising his innovation is to be admired.

Kamaruzaman assures that success does not come easy.

"My childhood ambition was to be a lecturer and an engineer. I realised my dream even though it took me five years to complete my Master’s in Engineering because my bachelor’s degree was in forestry. I believe anyone with a clear vision of what they want to achieve will move ahead in life."

He feels that rewards come to those who "dare to dream big". Kamaruzaman aspires to a visiting scholar’s post at Harvard University.

"I’m not aiming for a Nobel prize but if I get invited to lecture at Harvard, I can sleep well at night."