KUALA LUMPUR: ARB Bhd (ARBB) today announced the setting up of a wholly-owned subsidiary ARB Lab Sdn Bhd (ALSB), the company's research and development (R&D) unit to focus on information technology (IT) and Internet of Things (IoT) to strengthen the innovation ecosystem in Malaysia.
ALSB had also recently set up ARB R&D Sdn Bhd (ARD) to help ARBB push forward its agenda to develop an R&D centre and innovation ecosystem within the country to bridge the gap between impactful research and patented technology.
ARBB executive director Datuk Sri Larry Liew Kok Leong said the company's R&D unit would focus on building the company's innovation ecosystem.
"In addition to our internal R&D works on IT and IoT innovations, we will also collaborate with local universities in Malaysia to develop an R&D centre and innovation ecosystem.
"Our R&D unit is spearheaded by a group of experienced R&D technical committees who hold various copyrights and patents and are responsible for working closely with the industrial needs," he said in a statement today.
He said ARBB's goal is to drive the development of patented technology and help to accelerate the commercialisation of technology, especially those concerning IoT.
"Being one of the leading IoT players in Malaysia, we will be able to nurture strong collaboration and strategic partnerships between research institutes and IoT players in the industry," Larry said.
According to Larry, the division will act as a centre of excellence for local universities' researchers as it pushes for a more integrated collaboration with universities to monetise IPs and products.
The R&D unit targets to register and commercialise more than 10 copyrights in the coming quarter of 2022.
"This collaboration will stimulate the growth in the R&D industry in Malaysia as it serves as an R&D centre for innovative solutions and new technology.
"Our business model is to nurture the entrepreneurship of our researchers to commercialise intellectual properties (IP) products," he added.
Under the collaboration, ARBB will focus on the commercialisation activities of the IP technology while researchers can focus on developing these patented technologies.
Currently, ARBB has engaged with researchers from various local universities to commercialise the IoT systems and form numerous R&D entities that specialise in different technologies such as the development of cloud applications, artificial intelligence, big data analysis and mobile IoT.
ARBB believes that continued investment into R&D is key to sustaining its multi-fold growth earnings.
The latest collaboration with local universities through its newly R&D setup will play a vital role to build a pipeline of innovative technologies to support its long-term growth.
"The collaboration will strengthen our R&D capacities in IoT's business operation.
"By combining various patent analysis tools on the market with the best of competency mapping, we are confident to deliver a unique platform to identify future technologies and monitor the ever-changing environment," Larry said.
ARBB's R&D unit puts the company in a fast-track growth trajectory as it facilitates the growth of the entire value chain of technology, from scientists, researchers, products specialists, sales specialists and relevant networking in the industry.