NI a tech partner for Digital Malaysia’s embedded systems EPP

• Embedded systems one of 8 original EPPs under Digital Malaysia; company joins Intel which was named advisor earlier
• NI to provide local companies with tools and technology to establish competencies, build capacities, nurture innovation, etc

NATIONAL Instruments (NI) has been accepted as a technology partner for the Multimedia Development Corporation’s (MDeC) ‘Grow the Embedded Systems Industry’ project, one of the initial entry point projects (EPPs) under the Digital Malaysia programme.
 
Digital Malaysia is a programme overseen by national ICT custodian MDeC to promote the pervasive use of ICT in all aspects of the economy to increase national productivity, and drive the country towards a developed digital economy by 2020, NI said in a statement.
 
A total of eight projects were earmarked as the first set of initiatives. The ‘Grow the Embedded Systems Industry’ project aspires to develop the local embedded systems industry as a new source of economic growth. Intel Malaysia was named as technical advisor to the project late last year.
 
Malaysia is well positioned to expand its embedded industry capabilities to forge a niche in the burgeoning global embedded systems market, NI said in its statement, citing the nation’s established electronics industry ecosystem and skilled workforce.
 
Embedded systems are autonomous, programmable systems designed to control a few dedicated tasks within a larger system. Embedded systems are tightly integrated with computer hardware and software and used extensively across different industries such as automotive, aerospace, electronics manufacturing, healthcare, oil and gas as well as consumer electronics.
 
With such wide spread industrial applications, the global market for embedded systems are poised for growth at 9% CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) to reach US$220 billion by 2018, NI said.
 
As a technology partner, NI said it would provide local companies with the tools and technology to establish competencies, build capacities, nurture innovation and create local intellectual property.
 
Local SMEs (small and medium enterprises) can have access to NI technology and tools at the National Instruments Academy and Innovation Nucleus (NI-AIN) to work on proof-of-concept designs, systems prototyping and commercial system development projects.
 
The NI-AIN is a shared services laboratory facility established by NI and the Malaysian Government as part of the national Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) to establish a ‘Test and Measurement Innovation Hub’ in the industrial corridors of Malaysia. The facility is located at the Technology Park Malaysia and is now fully operational, NI said.
 
It is NI’s largest shared services lab facility in the world, with RM20 million (US$6.3 million) worth of hardware and software technology tools, and is envisioned to be an SME incubator centre for high-value design and engineering services, and a technology commercialisation hub nestled in the industrial corridors of Malaysia.
 
“National Instruments is an innovation-driven company and our platform-based approach seeks to do for the embedded systems what the PC did for the desktop,” said Chandran Nair (pic), managing director of National Instruments South-East Asia.
 
“We look forward to working closely with MDeC to develop Malaysia’s technology capabilities in the embedded systems arena, especially for the industrial embedded market segment,” he added.
 
NI and MDeC will also jointly develop a national talent development programme to expand the existing talent pool of highly skilled technical workforce to support a sustainable embedded systems industry.
 
“MDeC is excited to have National Instruments joining Intel as the global technology partners to support the ‘Grow the Embedded Systems Industry’ project,” said MDeC chief operating officer Ng Wan Peng.
 
“Having two of the world’s largest technology platform providers for embedded systems, both with significant presence of R&D facilities and capabilities in the country, will help to expand the embedded systems industry capabilities in Malaysia,” she added.
 
As part of its expanding presence in Asia and to cater to a growing industrial customer base in Malaysia and Asia as a whole, NI had also invested US$80 million in a state-of-the-art research and development (R&D) and manufacturing facility in Penang that started operations this year.
 
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Intel appointed advisor to Digital Malaysia embedded systems EPP
 
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