PHNOM PENH: Cambodia organized the National Day of Science, Technology and Innovation, culminating in an exhibition from 26-28 March 2023 at the Koh Pich Convention and Exhibition Center in Phnom Penh. More than 200 booths showcased the work of Cambodian youths and included robots, remote-controlled devices, agricultural management techniques and more.

Ya Rosa, an agricultural IT student, exhibited his team's work on smart agriculture, which demonstrated possibilities for the future of farm management.

Rosa's smart farm is equipped with soil moisture recognition technology that keeps moisture in the ground. His team also worked on heat management in vegetable farms and other security systems.

"The smart farm is built for real life. It will not use state electricity, but rather solar energy to control it all," he said. While the technology is promising, it is still in its research and development stage and not available on the market.

Attracting a lot of attention at this year’s expo was a drone technology booth. Hosted by the Khomnit Company, the booth displayed a remote-controlled aircraft and detailed the company’s ambitions toward even bigger projects in the future.

"I think the production of this drone is a first step before we get to the point where we can actually build a piloted aircraft," said Khomnit CEO Johnny Churne. He observed that in recent years, his drones have received a lot of support from people and hopes this will help accomplish his dreams for the future of producing small aircraft.

"Going forward, we are not just making this [remote-controlled] aircraft, but we intend to build aircraft that can be used in the military and commercial sectors," he said.

Next to the Khomnit project, a robot that looks like Luna Landing is running in front of the booth. Luna is the robot mascot for Robocon, one of the most popular competitions aired in Cambodia.

This year’s Robocon organizer, Mr. Pang Chamnan, said that his booth is there to further inform the public about the 2023 Robocon being held in Cambodia. He added that this year the robot competition is more difficult than before, which will make the event even more interesting to viewers.

"Our program will be held at the end of June and August, which will be the national and international competitions respectively," he said.

He believes that the organization of the National Day of Science, Technology and Innovation serves to show the country and the world that Cambodia is at a high level of technological development and innovation that will only continue to progress.

Of the many booths on display in this exhibition, some are hosted by international companies. South Korean company Very Words showcased their electric motorcycle which garnered a lot of attention from visitors.

"This is our newest model. It resembles a Honda PCX, but it is electric. Cambodians are leaning towards more high-performance models," Andy Chun told EAC News. "Next year we will provide this classic high-performance model to the Cambodia market."

Very Words has already set up an electric motorcycle factory in Cambodia and hopes to distribute to consumers in Cambodia and abroad. The company chose to produce in Cambodia because the Kingdom provides more benefits and incentives for the private sector to invest in e-mobility. He noted Siem Reap as especially receptive to clean vehicles, where the commune is looking for ways to preserve its world heritage site.

He added, “For the e-mobility opportunity, our first and humble country is Cambodia. [Afterwards] we want to expand our business from Cambodia to other countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar."

Senior Minister and Minister of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation, Cham Prasidh, stated that Cambodia is a highly creative nation that has not yet been discovered. He added that from now on, the government will strengthen innovation and science initiatives for students from primary to higher levels in hopes that in 10 or 20 years, Cambodia will catch up with other countries.

He said, "Khmer intelligence is not low! The important thing is to build a foundation for learning that can expand to real-life participation.”

The National Exhibition closed on 28 March and provided a fun environment for learning about the progress of science and technology in Cambodia. The Minister hopes that in the coming years, the exhibition will have a robot to welcome participants and that more AI technologies will be included in the exhibition.