Universiti Sains Malaysia and Sandisk Storage Malaysia Sdn Bhd recently announced a partnership to open the first digital storage innovation lab in Malaysia.
It is called the USM-Sandisk Centre of Innovation and Automation Lab (USM-Sandisk CiA Lab), and will allow students at the university at all levels from undergraduate to postgraduate to be involved in the research, testing and development of the company’s storage technology.
Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir, who officiated the innovation lab, said “The close collaboration between semiconductor manufacturing company Sandisk and USM is seen as an excellent example of synergy between industry and higher education institutions in empowering the country’s high-tech agenda.”
He also confirmed that the development of the USM-Sandisk CiA Lab is fully funded by Sandisk Storage, including the provision of high-tech equipment, world-class facilities, electricity and water resources, and the maintenance of the lab.
Datuk Seri Dr Zambry also said that this collaboration between USM and Sandisk is an extension of the Campus Connect program where Sandisk offers industrial training and development of new professional workforce.
Another interesting thing about the USM-Sandisk CiA Lab is its focus on the development of automation technology called Lights Out Manufacturing which leverages the use of robotics, automation and artificial intelligence technologies to enable Sandisk to produce memory and storage chips 24/7 around the clock with minimal supervision from human workers.
The introduction and development of the Lights Out Manufacturing concept will be given focus by USM and Sandisk and will involve 14 projects under seven main areas in Industry 4.0.