Left photo: Dr Lum and Mr Tan (second and third from left respectively), with Prof Dr Lim Tong Ming (leftmost), Director of the Centre for Business Incubation and Entrepreneurial Ventures (CBIEV) and Prof Dr Loke Chui Fung (rightmost), Vice President of TAR UMT.
Right photo: William (centre) with Prof Dr Lim (leftmost) and Prof Dr Loke (rightmost).
TAR UMT makes its mark at the 10th International Invention Innovation Competition in Canada on 30 August 2025 (iCAN 2025).
Leading the wins were Faculty of Engineering and Technology (FOET) lecturers, Mr Johnny Tan Yong Li and Assoc Prof Dr Lum Kin Yun, who clinched a Gold medal for their life-saving Collision Warning System (CWS). Their invention also impressed judges enough to earn shortlisting for two coveted special awards under EUROINVENT and the Turkish Inventors Association (TÜMMİAD).
The idea behind CWS was sparked by a troubling trend: the rising number of heavy-vehicle accidents on Malaysian roads. With more than 400,000 commercial vehicles operating and the figure growing by 4% annually, the duo saw an urgent need for a safety device that drivers could rely on—especially those working long, stressful hours.
Their solution, CWS, uses a rotating laser system with a detection range of up to 150 metres, giving drivers precious extra seconds to avoid collisions. Unlike costly high-end systems, CWS is designed as a simple plug-and-play dashboard device, similar to a dash cam—portable, affordable, and requiring no modifications to the vehicle.
Beyond preventing million-ringgit accident losses, the device aims to save lives and strengthen the country’s logistics ecosystem.
The invention reflects the pair’s complementary strengths. Dr Lum brings deep expertise in electronics and software, while Mr Tan, a former mechanical engineer in the semiconductor industry, designed the precision hardware.
Both credited TAR UMT’s support, from prototyping funds to access to advanced 5-axis CNC manufacturing tools.
Testing the CWS device (in yellow box) on TAR UMT bus.
Adding to the University’s triumph, William Cheong Weng Luen from the Faculty of Computing and Information Technology (FOCS) won a Silver medal and Certificate of Excellence for Lexora AI. Lexora AI, tackles a problem every Malaysian SME knows too well: mountains of raw data that never turn into actionable insights. Many businesses still slog through manual reporting or rely on expensive consultants. William saw an opportunity—and built a solution.
Lexora AI is more than another AI app. It is an autonomous digital analyst, built on an agentic framework that not only reads data but understands it, explains it, and visualises it with clarity. Think of it as a storyteller powered by cold, hard numbers.
Its three-stage pipeline powers this efficiency: Data Understanding – detects patterns using analytical models. Next is Narrative Generation, which uses a fine-tuned LLM to craft concise reports, and lastly, Visual Integration – pairs insights with charts through a dynamic Visual Pairing Engine.
Early tests show up to 80% faster report production and 45% better content consistency compared to manual drafting.
William attributes his success to TAR UMT’s strong foundation in AI, NLP, data warehousing, and software development, as well as access to GPU-equipped labs and the University’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, which helped him shape Lexora AI into an emerging startup.
Currently in its alpha stage, Lexora AI has the potential to benefit sectors from retail and manufacturing to finance, consulting, and research—any industry that relies on turning data into clear, compelling communication.
Lexora AI’s interface includes loading data, analysis suggestions and generating smart and strategic analysis.
