Tang Tiong Yew

Course: Doctor of Philosophy, 2016
Nationality: Malaysian
Current role: Research Centre For Human-Machine Collaboration (HUMAC) Senior Lecturer, Sunway University

Please tell us about your postgraduate research.

I proposed a novel human-robot communication model that is inspired by the human stress model. The noise from the environment may create many difficulties for the robot to comprehend. If the robot is unable to understand the human’s intended messages, the robot cannot effectively communicate with the human. Therefore, we replicate human reactions during uncertain situations by utilising the clues from the environment to support the robot's decision-making. We verified our model with a psychological survey and human-robot interaction experiments. Our results indicated that the robot can effectively react during ambiguous human-robot communication scenarios and thus improve the human-robot engagement.

Why did you choose Monash?

I choose to pursue my postgraduate degree at Monash University Malaysia because of its state-of-the-art research facilities and the international exposure to the research community in my field. I was also offered a scholarship by Monash to pursue my research interest further which clinched the deal. My knowledge and life experience earned throughout my years as a postgraduate degree student at Monash Malaysia exceeded my expectations.

Did you participate in any student activities or opportunities?

I was given a chance to experience the student exchange program with Tokyo Metropolitan University to widen my research collaboration with Japanese robotics researchers. I was also able to attend many highly ranked peer-reviewed international conferences to present my work to the research community and publish my work in these conferences.

What did you enjoy most about your student life at Monash?

I really appreciated the given opportunities to attend many intellectual property training sessions such as patent workshops organised by Monash Malaysia. Such opportunities accelerated my passion for intellectual property contributions for my company. Also, I enjoyed learning about different cultures with other international postgraduate students during my studies.

What are your career goals?

I wish to drive my company to the international level with the research and intellectual property skills that I learned from Monash. I wish to introduce to the world that high-value items can be secured with our patent-pending technology, and I wish to secure and authenticate the artist’s intellectual property creations for a sustainable fine art industry ecosystem.