LAVINDAR Singh’s passion for electronics began during his early years, only to grow stronger when he pursued higher education in electrical electronics at an institution in Kuala Lumpur in his early twenties.
Continuing to fuel his interest, he embarked on a two-year journey to the United Kingdom to pursue a masters’ degree, specialising in telecommunication and wireless technology.
Upon his return to Malaysia, Lavindar joined Panasonic’s Research and Development (R&D) team, where he dedicated himself to innovative projects.
Being heavily involved in the Internet of Things (IoT) industry, he’s accumulated 15 years of valuable experience in the field, so he has decided to go back to his hometown Kuching to start his own startup.
Now, he heads Satok Bridge Digital, a digital solutions provider based in the city, specialising in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and IoT.
WHAT IS SATOK BRIDGE DIGITAL
Satok Bridge Digital is a digital solutions startup, specialising in leveraging technology to solve problems, optimising processes and enhancing overall operations.
The company prides itself for offering innovative and effective data-driven solutions that utilise the latest advances in IoT and technology to help businesses make informed decisions with confidence and clarity.
As the industry they are in is very niche, Lavindar is trying to get a good grip on the Sarawak market before expanding it to any other market elsewhere.
THE FIRST MASTERPIECE, GAJAHSAFE
The innovative solution was developed to address the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries’s (MAFI) problem statement for the MYHackathon programme – “Technological solution to deal with human and wildlife conflicts in agro-food sector’s area.”
GajahSafe is an innovative and versatile solution that was developed as a result of collaboration between Satok Bridge Digital and University Malaysia Pahang, designed to provide comprehensive security for farms, villages and other areas of interest.
This solution consists of four key elements that work together to ensure maximum protection.
The first element lies in its detection system, equipped with AI-based cameras to monitor the surrounding areas and detect any potential elephants. According to Lavindar, the cameras are capable of recognising and tracking objects which in this case, are the elephants.
The second element is its deterrence system, which includes a multi-speaker system that emits loud sounds to deter elephants.
The third element is an electric fence sensor which sends alerts to owners on the fence status along with any movements.
Finally, GajahSafe is designed to send real time alerts to stakeholders, be it farmers, villagers or government officials in the event of any potential threats to ensure these are identified and dealt with quickly, before further damage or harm is caused.
According to Lavindar, this marked Satok Bridge Digital’s first system developed by them, the idea of which was long mooted.
GajahSafe is also the first solution that landed them their first win in MYHackathon.
EASYGROW, EASY AND SIMPLE FARMING
Another award-winning solution that landed them as one of the winners of Shell LiveWIRE 2022 is EasyGrow, an innovative solution for sustainable and cost-effective farming.
Through the EasyGrow setup, the users can enjoy an easy way of growing vegetables at the back of their homes, organically as they will be provided with the necessary equipment, seeds and fertilisers with no genetically modified organism (GMO) or pesticides, allowing them to begin farming immediately.
Why the name EasyGrow you may ask? Lavindar said it is extremely practical, where users only need to water the plants and add fertiliser, without needing much maintenance.
“We are trying to tap this into the market here in Sarawak because we want the people to realise that micro farming is the way forward to food security.
“If the system is kept at home, users can plant it themselves, and they feel more relieved to see the produce growing right before their own eyes.
“That way, it is easier to grow vegetables at home for self-consumption. Slowly after time, when there are a lot of EasyGrow users, we can achieve food security,” he said.
So far, they have experimented with coriander, stevia, peppermint and spearmint through the EasyGrow setup, which is powered through solar panel.
WINNING MYHACKATHON AND SHELL LIVEWIRE 2022
Just two years into the industry, they have won two awards and successfully implemented seven projects.
Satok Bridge Digital was crowned one of the winners of the MYHackathon 2022 Cohort 2 (MYHackathon) programme through GajahSafe while EasyGrow, their other masterpiece secured them another win in Shell LiveWIRE 2022.
It has always been curiosity which leads to where the company is today, said Lavindar.
“The thing with us is, we do not like to stay focused only on one thing. We have to keep learning and expanding our knowledge and the idea is to keep learning with passion.”
On the initiatives made possible by Tabung Gagasan Ekonomi Anak Sarawak or TEGAS, he likened Tegas as their saviour, and has been a strong support system for the digital provider from scratch to where they are now today.
“Tegas is like our saviour and supporter and has helped us a lot, especially startups.
“Besides providing us with the work space, almost every month there are visits from elected representatives, ministers where the startup communities are exposed to them,” he said.
He also landed an opppritunity to meet with representatives from Google Malaysia to discuss ways to alleviate the startup community in Sarawak.
“Tegas is always one of our biggest supporters, and we are very grateful for what they’ve done for us and what they are continuing to do for us,” said Lavindar.
TECHNOLOGY ADAPTION IN SARAWAK
He noticed that the adaption to Internet of Things (IoT) in Sarawak, in the past few years alongside the initiatives laid out by the Sarawak Premier to go digital has accelerated the technology scene in the state.
The formation of Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA) and the Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC), has accelerated a lot of technology adaption.
“Today, with all the initiative put out by the government. I would dare to say that we’ve accelerated our technology adaption in Sarawak compared to the rest of Malaysia.
“The rural community also gets to enjoy internet connectivity through MySRBN (Sarawak Rural Broadband Network).
“A lot of other states don’t have that capability but we have been aggressive. The Premier has been aggressive with his digitalisation initiatives and that’s why we are where we are today,” he said.
In Tegas Digital Village, he said there are four AI companies established today, with two Sarawak companies winning the MyHackathon back to back.
“There are not many of us in Sarawak but we have embraced technology as much as we can,” he said.
ON THE RIGHT TRACK
Sarawak is on the right track to achieve the aspirations outlined in the Post Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030, said Lavindar.
“We’ve embraced digitalisation, embracing green energy and many others. It is just a matter of time before big technology companies from overseas come to Sarawak and invest in us.
“Through the newly-established Petronas Regional Delivery Centre set up at the Tegas Digital Innovation Hub here, there will be more foreign investors coming in and trying to set up their companies here.
“With education institutions like Curtin University, Swinburne University of Technology, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), University of Technology Sarawak (UTS) that are producing good quality students, the manpower is coming.
“It is not impossible, we are almost there.”
Previously, Petronas signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tegas to collaborate on creating digital jobs and talent upskilling through the newly-established Petronas Regional Delivery Centre in Sarawak.
The new centre will generate digital jobs for local talent and serve as a launchpad for developing the region’s digital ecosystem.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Lavindar said it is his dream to expand the business and wants the company to be identified as a Sarawakian company as much as possible.
“We want Sarawakians running it, doing the technical work and Sarawakian minds behind it.
“We want to encourage the younger generation who have ideas to come join and tell us their ideas and see how we can expand,” he said.
By expanding the business, he said Satok Bridge Digital will be able to try different things and capture the market.
For Easygrow, he said a bigger system is needed for home users as not all prefer the current system.
“Some prefer a small mini greenhouse for home owners or semi-business set up. That’s our next venture, to make a small mini green house.
“At the end of the day, we still want to help the community. If it can benefit someone, we are happy.
“If we can make agriculture easy and simple, and it benefits the farmers,we find satisfaction in that,” he said.
