Graduands from Nanyang Polytechnic’s (NYP) School of Engineering teamed up with experts from ORIGIN Exterminators Pte Ltd, a data-driven pest management solutions company, to enhance the company’s ORITrap device. A component of ORIGIN’s “3 + 1 Mosquito Management Programme”, the ORITrap is placed at potential mosquito breeding sites. Components within the trap lure female adult mosquitoes to lay eggs within, kill the mosquito larvae that hatch, prevents virus development, contaminates micro breeding sites, and eventually kills the female adult mosquitoes.

The NYP graduands helped extend the shelf life and effectiveness of the trap by leveraging solar-powered batteries and adding motion-activated sensors that will send alerts when the ORITraps were moved or toppled. These enhancements were essential as the ORITraps must remain static to ensure accurate data collection. The larvae count of each trap is then tracked and trended to identify hot spots for targeted preventive measures – so as to further mitigate the risk of potential mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue.

The NYP team also tapped on low-power wide-area network (LPWAN), a wireless communication network designed to allow long-range communications, to enable data collection from the ORITrap. Key benefits of LPWAN include its extensive network coverage, minimal power consumption and low maintenance. At NYP’s Smart Connected Solutions Centre (SCSC), the graduands worked together to design and develop the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) which connects all the functions of the ORITrap from scratch. Further, the NYP students developed codes to read data from the built-in accelerometer which detects movement and coordinates from the Global Positioning System (GPS), allowing ORIGIN to accurately track the live location of each trap. Furthermore, codes were optimised to ensure low-powered operations which helps save battery life. Finally, the team conducted performance testing to ensure the functionality of the ORITrap.

This collaboration with ORIGIN was one of the tie-ups with SMEs that benefitted students by providing them with the opportunity to work on real-life projects and to co-create solutions with the industry. It was a sharp learning curve for our graduands as they had to learn and master the technology and tools of a relatively specialised industry within a short span of time. Collaborating on such projects exposes students to the evolving demands of the industry and better prepare them for work or further studies after graduation.

Mohammad Sharik Bin Ramli, 20, a Diploma in Electrical Engineering with Eco-Design student was a member of the project team and is one of the 6,002 graduands from NYP’s Class of 2022. “Mosquito-borne diseases have always been a concern in Singapore. I am grateful to be part of this meaningful project where I can put my skills to good use and make a positive impact on the community,” Sharik said. “Through this industry project, I’ve also sharpened my C++ programming skills and seeded a greater interest in the field. I will be serving my National Service shortly after graduation, but I am keen to further my studies to pursue a career in engineering.”

Mr Winston Baptista, Chief Executive Officer of ORIGIN Exterminators, said, “We are long-time partners with Nanyang Polytechnic and have always enjoyed collaborating with their team of experts. With the students' enhancements to the ORITrap, it can now be better utilised to serve our customers by mitigating potential health risks. We are able to monitor the position and condition of the ORITrap, using solar energy as the power source. This first phase of the development has been successful, and we are excited to bring this into the market.”

ORIGIN aims to deploy these tools in public places including hawker centres to curb mosquito breeding. NYP will continue to work closely with ORIGIN on the manufacturing and commercialisation of the enhanced ORITrap.

This was one of many projects done by NYP’s Class of 2022. Over 6,000 students will be graduating from NYP’s diplomas, specialist diplomas and advanced diplomas across various Graduation Ceremonies to be held from 04 to 12 May 2022. Ms Gan Siow Huang, Minister of State for Education and Manpower, was the Guest-of-Honour at the Institutional Session on 04 May, where eight NYP top graduates were also presented as Distinguished Award winners.