Sheikh Izzal Azid

Smart sensors and automated manufacturing processes can enable quality-assured production of geopolymer concrete from recovered materials and reduce the carbon footprint of housing, civil and energy infrastructure works and marina construction materials. Geopolymer is a new cementitious binder with lower carbon footprint than Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and the development of geopolymer from waste-derived materials contributes to Circular Economy. However, unlike OPC which is made from limestone and clay where the quality and consistency of these finite virgin materials extracted from the natural environment can be assured, the quality and consistency of waste-derived materials like coal flyash, mine tailings, mineral processing residues, metal slags and other industrial byproducts cannot be assured. Moreover, once these feedstock materials are used to manufacture geopolymer concrete the use of hazardous alkali-activating chemicals is required. Therefore, the use of advanced monitoring and control is applied at three levels: 1) assessment of the waste materials at their source (eg tailings storage facilities) with RPA (drones), 2) monitoring of the waste materials during pre-treatment to become feedstock with advanced sensors (eg X-Ray Fluorescence XRF) and 3) robotics and automation for the chemical handling plant, mixing of the feedstock materials into the reactor vessel and casting of the resultant concrete into the moulds.

With the rapid development of robotics, autonomous rovers are finding numerous applications in the automation industry. This research paper aims to present an approach to designing an autonomous rover that can detect and avoid obstacles through advanced image-processing techniques. The proposed rover operates in real time, utilizing the Raspberry Pi module and an integrated camera, and is developed using the open-source computer vision (OpenCV) library. The Canny edge detection algorithm, one of the most reliable and widely-used image-processing techniques, is employed to process the images and video feeds captured by the camera. Additionally, the images are further enhanced using a bilateral filter to achieve improved results. The rover's navigation system is designed to enable autonomous movement, ensuring that the wheels can detect and avoid obstacles, thereby eliminating the possibility of collisions. The study presents an innovative approach to autonomous rover design and could significantly impact the field of robotics and automation.

This study was carried out within the framework of the Pacific Europe Network for Science and Technology (PACE-Net), a project funded by the European Commission (EC). The PACE-Net project seeks to improve regional and bi-regional collaboration and cooperation activities in science and technology (S&T) research within the Pacific and between Europe and the Pacific (ACP—African, Caribbean and Pacific; OCT—Overseas Countries and Territories). Its global aim is to develop networks between Pacific and European stakeholders from research entities, universities, and industries, and including policymakers, programme managers and civil society, in order to facilitate and establish balanced and multidisciplinary partnerships in priority areas of mutually beneficial research. Energy is the theme this study focuses on. Renewable research will be presented in comparison to other research themes in the Pacific. Furthermore, the renewable energy research institutions in the Pacific, their projects and the total cost of their research are discussed. It is seen that only 4 % of total research in the Pacific is on energy, and most collaboration is national. The percentage of energy research projects is compared to Pacific energy goals, and the funding/research/collaboration gap is discussed. The results are further divided into the categories ACP (Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Samoa and Vanuatu), OCT (French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Pitcairn Islands, Wallis and Futuna) and regional organisations (University of the South Pacific, Secretariat of Pacific Community, South Pacific, Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme) in the Pacific for specific data.