FIKA MUT represents Thailand to win second place in APSCO ‘Competition on Discovering Historical Cultural Heritage with Eye in Space’
Bangkok, February 2022: FIKA from Mahanakorn University of Technology (MUT), in association with R V Connex, brings pride and joy to Thailand as it went on to win second place in the virtual APSCO ‘Competition on Discovering Historical Cultural Heritage with Eye in Space’. The competition was co-organized by ASPCO (Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization) and HIST (International Centre on Space Technologies for Natural and Cultural Heritage) under the auspices of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), PIESAT Information Technology Co., Ltd. (PIESAT), Belt and Road Aerospace Innovation Alliance (BRAIA), Belt and Road Cultural Heritage Global Alliance (BRCHGA), and Commission on Geoheritage of the International Geographical Union (IGU-COG).
On 25 January 2022 at the headquarters of APSCO in Beijing, China, the winners of APSCO ‘Competition on Discovering Historical Cultural Heritage with Eye in Space’ were announced via teleconference. The winner was the team from China, while the second place were FIKA from Mahanakorn University of Technology in Thailand and a team from Egypt. Third place were teams from Pakistan, China and Romania.
FIKA is an ensemble of researchers and engineers from MUT and RV Connex, comprising of namely, Asst.Prof. Dr. Suphongsa Khetkeeree, physics lecturer from MUT’s Faculty of Science as an instructor; Aniwat Plodphai from MUT’s Thai-Paht Microsatellite Research Center as a researcher; Bannakorn Petchthaweetham from R V Connex as a Technical Specialist (GIS), and Anawat Tongta from R V Connex as a Software Engineer. The project was overseen throughout the competition duration by Asst.Prof. Dr. Sompong Liangrocapart, Head of Physics, Faculty of Science, Mahanakorn University of Technology.
APSCO ‘Competition on Discovering Historical Cultural Heritage with Eye in Space’ is a competition that involves finding historical heritage with sensing systems from space, an approach that combines remote sensing technology and geographic information system (GIS) to analyze and discover archeological finds designated by the Expert Committee. The competition took place from 6 December 2021 to 7 January 2022, including training, preliminary competition, and the final competition with a final presentation on 25 January 2022. The competition was divided into three levels according to remote sensing data processing, interpretation, which was based on comprehensive analysis and three dimensional (3D)/virtual reality (VR).
To represent Thailand, the National Space Affair Division of the Office of the National Digital Economy and Society Commission (ONDE) selected six teams, namely SPACE OPS from Space Operation Center of Royal Thai Airforce; Super Gang from the Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University; KKU-R2G from Khon Kaen University; FIKA from Mahanakorn University of Technology; Archaeo Discovery from Chulalongkorn University and Black & Jack from Mahidol University. The teams participated in the APSCO Training Course Remote Sensing Data Processing and Applications and subsequently APSCO Space Application Competition – Discovering Historical Heritage with Eye in Space between 6 December 2021 and 7 January 2022.
After the first round of evaluation, 12 teams from 200 participants were selected. Out of 68 teams from 11 countries including Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Iran, Mexico, Mongolia, Pakistan, Peru, Romania, Thailand and Turkey. Selected teams from Thailand were Archaeo Discovery from Chulalongkorn University and FIKA from Mahanakorn University of Technology. On 25 January 2022, the teams presented their findings to the Expert Committee Members constituted of 14 experts from Member States of APSCO and co-organizers of this event.
FIKA’s success as holder of second place winner demonstrates the potential and highlights collaborative effort of a research team that comprises faculty members of MUT and engineers from the industrial sector in developing research works, concepts, and implementation of technology in the making of global innovation. This prestigious success and recognition by researchers, faculty members and senior students will continue to inspire and set an example for the next generation of researchers and engineers, driving them to fortify their skills and expertise to develop powerful technology that can be expanded into a business to further help elevate Thailand’s industrial sector and economy.
