IICT – Frankie Inguanez

Tag: IICT

MCAST @ DaSET 2023

Posted on 2023-12-052023-12-05 by Frankie

Very pleased that our MCAST IICT undergraduate research, authored by Ms Clair Abela and myself, has been accepted and presented at the 2nd International Conference on Data Science and Emerging Technologies 2023 (DaSET 2023). Our study titled “Wound Stage Recognition using YOLOv5” focuses on the use of YOLOv5 to detect and classify pressure injuries. Clair has demonstrated great dedication and rigor in her research undertaking and excelled not just at an institute level but also at an international level, representing MCAST and Malta.

Abstract: Pressure injuries or pressure sores are lesions that develop over the bony prominences of the body. It is noted from professional nurses and from first-hand experience, that such wounds are often wrongly classified, making the healing process difficult and painful for the patient, when it does not need to be the case. This study aims to research the use of modern computer vision and artificial intelligence techniques to aid in the classification of pressure ulcers to a degree superior to that achieved by humans. The YOLOv5 algorithm was trained in various combinations of three data sets. Single-phase and multi-phase architecture models were developed and trained for the different data set configurations to identify the ideal scenario of classification for the different stages of pressure ulcers. A single-phase architecture model trained using the public data sets and enhanced with the novel data set improves on the current state of the art. While the single-phase architecture was deemed the better option for the wound stage classification throughout this study, both architectures had their own strong points. The multi-phase architecture was found to be better suited for smaller data sets, while the single-phase architecture was better suited for larger ones. It was also found that throughout both architectures, the combination of 3 data sets is varied enough, however, less is not. This study is further strengthened through the input of different viewpoints that complement the lead researcher’s work.

MCAST @ B2C 2022

Posted on 2022-11-142022-11-14 by Frankie

It was a great pleasure to have the opportunity to present our research at the B2C 2022 Conference in Barcelona, Spain. Mr Jake Carabott has presented our research titled “A Last Mile Blockchain Based Proof of Delivery System” in which we explore the use of blockchain technology as a solution for the last mile delivery service.

In this research, Jake has custom-built a locker fitted with a smart lock that interacts with a custom-built mobile application. This application allows the owner to manage access to the locker with a courier being allowed to deposit parcels when a human is not available to gather. Access is logged on the blockchain for transparency and auditing purposes. This proof of concept prototype has been lab-tested and validated. To further complement the research an interview with a manager in a logistics company was held to get the business point of view, as well as a survey with 100 respondents to gather the end-user point of view.

The conference was packed with various other Blockchain research by other students and various keynote speakers. Thanks to MCAST IICT for the support. Special thanks to Profs. Sergey Yurish for the organization of this conference.

MCAST @ ICCE-Berlin 2021

Posted on 2021-12-222022-07-25 by Frankie

At the 11th IEEE International Conference on Consumer Technology, six undergraduate research have been published. Mr Justin Duncan, Mr Sigmond Gatt, Ms Yanika Mifsud and Mr Owen Xuereb were mentored by myself, whilst Ms Zvetlana Bajada and Mr Silvan Vella were mentored by Mr Daren Scerri.

Mr Justin Duncan has undertaken research in “Social Distancing Crowd Segmentation, Estimation and Visualisation”. Mr Sigmond Gatt researched “Use of Blockchain Technology in Automation of Ad-Hoc Leasing Agreements”. Ms Yanika Mifsud has researched “Dance Style Classification by LSTM RNN”. Mr Owen Xuereb researched “A Grad-CAM and YOLO based approach to extracting a human passageway ROI”. Ms Zvetlana Bajada focused her research in “A Cloud-based Edtech Framework for Augmenting 3D Objects to Assist Vocational Learning”. Mr Silvan Vella has researched “Vision-based Health Protocol Observance System for Small Rooms”.

It was also an honour and privilege to have served on the Technical Programme Committee where I had the opportunity and pleasure of reviewing other research. Thank you to the team.

Well done to all students for your hard work and dedication.

MCAST @ BNAIC/BENELEARN 2021

Posted on 2021-12-222021-12-22 by Frankie

On the 10th November 2021, MCAST IICT was represented by Ms Abigail Vella who presented our research in “Remote NO2 emissions assessment during COVID-19 lockdowns” at the BNAIC/BENELEARN 2021 conference. This work was also assisted by Mr Daren Scerri. We made use of the European Space Agency Copernicus Sentinel-5 satellites and observed the emissions for the months of March-May of 2019 and 2020. Our observations were strongly correlated with official reports by the Environment & Resource Authority, to whom we presented our findings. A really well done to Ms Abigail Vella for her hard work and dedication, really proud of our work.

A really well done to the organising committee of the conference and to the University of Luxembourg for such a wonderful and inspiring event. Strongly recommend the event and venue.

2020 research review

Posted on 2021-01-13 by Frankie

A review of the year 2020 in terms of the research achievements.

MCAST ICT Applied Research Group

Posted on 2020-03-31 by Frankie

It is my great pleasure to announce the launching of the MCAST IICT Applied Research Group, ICTAR for short. We are a group of eight IICT academics and a senior research officer whose aim is to focus on support research at MCAST IICT. We work on research projects, deliver talks and organise workshops. We have five research themes:

We can be contacted via ictar@mcast.edu.mt.

MCAST @ WCV 2019

Posted on 2019-11-28 by Frankie

It was a great pleasure and honour to present our MCAST IICT research at the International Workshop on Colour Vision 2019, part of the ISPA 2019 conference in Dubrovnik, Croatia. The conference was very well organized and full of great research. We presented research titled “Chrovision and TrueColour: Applications for Colour Impaired Persons” authored by Charleston Attard and myself.

In this research, we created a smartphone application, Chrovision, that simulates different degrees of colour blindness and corrects the image to cater for the colour impaired individual needs. The second application, TrueColor, identifies the colour name of a specific target. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Charleston on his great work and this achievement.

MCAST IICT Expo

Posted on 2019-07-05 by Frankie

MCAST IICT just held its EXPO on Tuesday 2nd July and it was a great success. A great team made up of students, lecturers, management and administration supported by our sponsors came together to share the achievements within our institute.

The event was well received and covered extensively within the media, a real motivational booster to our students and a validation of the great work being done.

During the same event a parallel EXPO was held by the Institute of Electrical Engineering. Currently the ICA Festival is being held by the Institute of Creative Arts.

Proud to be at MCAST IICT in such interesting and positive times with great and talented individuals (students, lecturers, technical staff, administrative staff and managerial staff alike).

MCAST IICT Research

Posted on 2019-07-05 by Frankie

On the 12th June 2019 a series of presentations were delivered by my 2nd year and 3rd year IICT students to share their research advancements with 1st Year BSC students and lecturer’s alike.

Damiano Nicastro – Brand Identity Tracking via Audio Streams

Damiano Nicastro, a 2nd Year B.Sc. Software Development student presented his research in Brand Identity Monitoring using Audio Streams.

Irisann Agius – Clustering Raspberry PI devices for advanced Processing Power needs

Irisann Agius, also a 2nd Year B.Sc. Software Development student presented her research in Clustering Raspberry PI Devices for Advanced Processing Power needs which is a growing need due to the growth in research being experienced at MCAST IICT.

Axel Curmi – Automated Academic Achievement Verification via Blockchain and Image Processing

Axel Curmi, a 3rd Year B.Sc. Software Development student, presented his research in Automated Academic Achievement Verification via Blockchain and Image Processing. The first part of this research was presented in a Springer conference last year and exhibited at the Delta Summit 2018.

Ricardo Sciberras – Automated Traffic Congestion Estimation via Public Video Feeds

Ricardo Sciberras, a 3rd Year B.Sc. Software Development student, presented his research in Automated Traffic Congestion Estimation via Public Video Feeds. The first part of this research was presented in the ICCE-Berlin IEEE Conference last year.

Eman Sammut, also a 3rd Year B.Sc. Software Development student presented his research in Blockchain Based Car Park management system for Automated Vehicles.

PingFIN X @ MCAST, Malta

Posted on 2019-04-21 by Frankie

For the fifth consecutive year MCAST IICT has hosted PingFIN, an International e-Payments Workshop organised by Odisee and currently in its tenth iteration. Also, co-hosting this event, in their respective campuses were Colchester Institute, UK and Fachhochshule FH Salzburg, Austria.

This event has become a staple in MCAST’s calendar and interest by our sponsors is growing, which this year included MITA, eSkills Foundation Malta, Microsoft Innovation Centre Malta, ccBill EU Ltd and RS2 Software PLC.

This year we had the highest attendance yet, with 24 local students and 15 visiting students and thus the change of venue. During the four day event from the 1st to the 4th of April all students were split into groups to work on the SEPA Credit Transfer and SEPA Recall Process using Oracle PL/SQL.

It most definitely was a unique experience for our participants working as a team, networking and learning new skills, whilst also getting feedback from professionals among our sponsors.

This was an unforgettable experience and I look forward for next year. I thank our sponsors, Kevin Picalausa from Odisee, all staff from MCAST for making this possible. Special thanks to my team: Alan Gatt, Daren Scerri, Luke Vella Critien and Robert Abela for their invaluable support. Finally and most of all, thanks to the students for taking our offer and making this experience special.