{"id":265,"date":"2012-10-10T08:52:01","date_gmt":"2012-10-10T00:52:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/people.utm.my\/azman2\/?page_id=265"},"modified":"2026-09-25T23:52:24","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T15:52:24","slug":"research-areasinterest","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/murtadha\/research-areasinterest\/","title":{"rendered":"Research Areas and Interests"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-group ni-site\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><a class=\"ni-skip\" href=\"#ni-main\">Skip to content<\/a><div class=\"ni-institution\" aria-label=\"Institutional affiliation\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"ni-lockup ni-lockup--colour\" src=\"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/murtadha\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/717\/2026\/09\/New-UTM-ASCEND2030-COL.png\" width=\"1474\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Universiti Teknologi Malaysia \u2014 ASCEND 2030\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"ni-lockup ni-lockup--black\" src=\"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/murtadha\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/717\/2026\/09\/UTM-ASCEND2030-BL.png\" width=\"1463\" height=\"450\" alt=\"Universiti Teknologi Malaysia \u2014 ASCEND 2030\"><\/div><header class=\"ni-header\"><a class=\"ni-brand\" href=\"\/murtadha\/\">MURTADHA<span>NETWORKED INTELLIGENCE<\/span><\/a><nav class=\"ni-desktop\" aria-label=\"Primary\"><a href=\"\/murtadha\/research-areasinterest\/\">Research<\/a><a href=\"\/murtadha\/scopus-indexed-publications\/\">Publications<\/a><a href=\"\/murtadha\/phd-students\/\">People<\/a><a href=\"\/murtadha\/teaching\/\">Teaching<\/a><a href=\"\/murtadha\/consultancy-industry-engagement\/\">Impact<\/a><a href=\"\/murtadha\/biography\/\">About<\/a><\/nav><a class=\"ni-contact-link\" href=\"mailto:murtadha@utm.my\">Contact &#x2197;<\/a><details class=\"ni-menu\"><summary>Menu<\/summary><nav aria-label=\"Mobile\"><a href=\"\/murtadha\/research-areasinterest\/\">Research<\/a><a href=\"\/murtadha\/scopus-indexed-publications\/\">Publications<\/a><a href=\"\/murtadha\/phd-students\/\">People<\/a><a href=\"\/murtadha\/teaching\/\">Teaching<\/a><a href=\"\/murtadha\/consultancy-industry-engagement\/\">Impact<\/a><a href=\"\/murtadha\/biography\/\">About<\/a><a href=\"mailto:murtadha@utm.my\">Contact &#x2197;<\/a><\/nav><\/details><\/header><div id=\"ni-main\" tabindex=\"-1\"><\/div>\n<!-- ============ RESEARCH AREAS &amp; INTEREST \u2014 paste as ONE Custom HTML block ============ -->\n<div class=\"mm mm-masthead\">\n  <div class=\"mm-masthead__inner\">\n    <span class=\"mm-masthead__kicker\">Research areas &amp; interest<\/span>\n    <h1>Networks that hold together in <em>difficult<\/em> places.<\/h1>\n    <p class=\"mm-masthead__lede\">Pervasive computing, motion planning and underwater wireless sensor networks, with an emphasis on work that has direct human use. Six active themes, one common question: how does a system stay reliable when the environment refuses to cooperate?<\/p>\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"mm ni-page-module\" style=\"padding:clamp(70px,8vw,112px) clamp(20px,5vw,60px);background:#171416;color:#fff;border-bottom:1px solid #453931\">\n<div class=\"mm-inner\">\n<div style=\"display:grid;grid-template-columns:repeat(auto-fit,minmax(min(100%,320px),1fr));gap:28px;align-items:end;margin-bottom:42px\">\n<div><span class=\"mm-eyebrow\" style=\"color:#c6a15b\">Research \u00b7 connected themes<\/span><h2 style=\"margin:14px 0 0;color:#fff;font-size:clamp(34px,5vw,62px);line-height:.98\">Six directions.<br><em style=\"color:#d7c9bd;font-weight:400\">One system of inquiry.<\/em><\/h2><\/div>\n<p style=\"margin:0;color:#c3b6a8;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\">Each theme is a node in a wider programme concerned with reliable intelligence in difficult physical environments.<\/p>\n<\/div><div role=\"list\" aria-label=\"Research theme grid\" style=\"display:grid;grid-template-columns:repeat(auto-fit,minmax(min(100%,220px),1fr));gap:12px\">\n<div role=\"listitem\" style=\"min-height:190px;padding:24px;display:flex;flex-direction:column;justify-content:space-between;background:#eee8e3;color:#171416;border-top:4px solid #c6a15b\"><span style=\"font-size:10px;letter-spacing:.14em;opacity:.7\">01 \/ PERVASIVE<\/span><div><strong style=\"display:block;font-size:25px;line-height:1.03;letter-spacing:-.03em\">Connected computing<\/strong><p style=\"margin:12px 0 0;font-size:14px;line-height:1.55;opacity:.78\">IoT and context-aware systems embedded in real places.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<div role=\"listitem\" style=\"min-height:190px;padding:24px;display:flex;flex-direction:column;justify-content:space-between;background:#7a1f32;color:#fff;border-top:4px solid #c6a15b\"><span style=\"font-size:10px;letter-spacing:.14em;opacity:.7\">02 \/ NETWORKS<\/span><div><strong style=\"display:block;font-size:25px;line-height:1.03;letter-spacing:-.03em\">Wireless sensing<\/strong><p style=\"margin:12px 0 0;font-size:14px;line-height:1.55;opacity:.78\">Resilient routing, topology, deployment and scalable control.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<div role=\"listitem\" style=\"min-height:190px;padding:24px;display:flex;flex-direction:column;justify-content:space-between;background:#d8c9bd;color:#171416;border-top:4px solid #c6a15b\"><span style=\"font-size:10px;letter-spacing:.14em;opacity:.7\">03 \/ UNDERWATER<\/span><div><strong style=\"display:block;font-size:25px;line-height:1.03;letter-spacing:-.03em\">Acoustic networks<\/strong><p style=\"margin:12px 0 0;font-size:14px;line-height:1.55;opacity:.78\">Communication, routing and autonomy below the surface.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<div role=\"listitem\" style=\"min-height:190px;padding:24px;display:flex;flex-direction:column;justify-content:space-between;background:#eee8e3;color:#171416;border-top:4px solid #c6a15b\"><span style=\"font-size:10px;letter-spacing:.14em;opacity:.7\">04 \/ ROBOTICS<\/span><div><strong style=\"display:block;font-size:25px;line-height:1.03;letter-spacing:-.03em\">Motion planning<\/strong><p style=\"margin:12px 0 0;font-size:14px;line-height:1.55;opacity:.78\">Robot navigation and bio-inspired optimisation.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<div role=\"listitem\" style=\"min-height:190px;padding:24px;display:flex;flex-direction:column;justify-content:space-between;background:#7a1f32;color:#fff;border-top:4px solid #c6a15b\"><span style=\"font-size:10px;letter-spacing:.14em;opacity:.7\">05 \/ POSITIONING<\/span><div><strong style=\"display:block;font-size:25px;line-height:1.03;letter-spacing:-.03em\">Indoor intelligence<\/strong><p style=\"margin:12px 0 0;font-size:14px;line-height:1.55;opacity:.78\">WiFi, camera-based localisation and hybrid positioning.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<div role=\"listitem\" style=\"min-height:190px;padding:24px;display:flex;flex-direction:column;justify-content:space-between;background:#d8c9bd;color:#171416;border-top:4px solid #c6a15b\"><span style=\"font-size:10px;letter-spacing:.14em;opacity:.7\">06 \/ HERITAGE<\/span><div><strong style=\"display:block;font-size:25px;line-height:1.03;letter-spacing:-.03em\">Applied AI<\/strong><p style=\"margin:12px 0 0;font-size:14px;line-height:1.55;opacity:.78\">Intelligent tools supporting research in the built environment.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"mm mm-sec\">\n  <div class=\"mm-inner\">\n    <div class=\"mm-eyebrow-row\"><span class=\"mm-eyebrow\">01 &mdash; Anchor area<\/span><\/div>\n    <div class=\"mm-focus\">\n      <div class=\"mm-anchor\">\n        <span class=\"mm-anchor__label\">The thread through everything<\/span>\n        <h3>Wireless sensor networks<\/h3>\n        <p>Resilient sensing, routing and deployment &mdash; protocols and topology control for networks that must hold together with scarce energy, unstable links and no maintenance window. Software-defined approaches, energy-efficient opportunistic routing and scalable control all sit here.<\/p>\n        <div class=\"mm-anchor__tags\"><span>Routing &amp; topology<\/span><span>Energy models<\/span><span>SDWSN<\/span><span>Deployment<\/span><\/div>\n      <\/div>\n      <div class=\"mm-list\">\n        <div class=\"mm-list__row\"><span class=\"mm-list__name\">Pervasive and connected computing<\/span><span class=\"mm-list__meta\">IoT &amp; context-aware systems<\/span><\/div>\n        <div class=\"mm-list__row\"><span class=\"mm-list__name\">Underwater acoustic networks<\/span><span class=\"mm-list__meta\">UWASN \/ IoUT<\/span><\/div>\n        <div class=\"mm-list__row\"><span class=\"mm-list__name\">Motion planning<\/span><span class=\"mm-list__meta\">Bio-inspired optimisation<\/span><\/div>\n        <div class=\"mm-list__row\"><span class=\"mm-list__name\">Indoor positioning<\/span><span class=\"mm-list__meta\">WiFi \/ camera \/ hybrid<\/span><\/div>\n        <div class=\"mm-list__row\"><span class=\"mm-list__name\">AI for built heritage<\/span><span class=\"mm-list__meta\">UTM KALAM<\/span><\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"mm mm-sec mm-sec--tint\">\n  <div class=\"mm-inner\">\n    <div class=\"mm-eyebrow-row\"><span class=\"mm-eyebrow\">02 &mdash; The six themes<\/span><\/div>\n    <div class=\"mm-cards\">\n      <div class=\"mm-card\"><span class=\"mm-card__k\">Theme 01<\/span><h3>Pervasive and connected computing<\/h3><p>Intelligent environments, IoT and context-aware systems &mdash; computing that recedes into the background of a real place.<\/p><\/div>\n      <div class=\"mm-card\"><span class=\"mm-card__k\">Theme 02<\/span><h3>Wireless sensor networks<\/h3><p>Resilient sensing, routing and deployment, including software-defined and scalable control architectures.<\/p><\/div>\n      <div class=\"mm-card\"><span class=\"mm-card__k\">Theme 03<\/span><h3>Underwater acoustic networks<\/h3><p>Communication and networking in difficult underwater environments: greedy and opportunistic routing, AUV path planning, the Internet of Underwater Things.<\/p><\/div>\n      <div class=\"mm-card\"><span class=\"mm-card__k\">Theme 04<\/span><h3>Motion planning<\/h3><p>Robot navigation, path planning and bio-inspired optimisation &mdash; the line that runs back to my doctoral work on foraging ant strategies.<\/p><\/div>\n      <div class=\"mm-card\"><span class=\"mm-card__k\">Theme 05<\/span><h3>Indoor positioning<\/h3><p>WiFi, camera-based localisation and hybrid positioning, including pedestrian navigation and emergency rescue location.<\/p><\/div>\n      <div class=\"mm-card\"><span class=\"mm-card__k\">Theme 06<\/span><h3>AI for built heritage<\/h3><p>Sensing and exploratory analysis for heritage buildings, with links to UTM KALAM &mdash; microclimate monitoring and maintenance-priority research.<\/p><\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"mm mm-sec\" id=\"ad05-featured-study\">\n  <div class=\"mm-inner\">\n    <div class=\"mm-cards\" style=\"grid-template-columns:1fr\">\n      <div class=\"mm-card\"><span class=\"mm-card__k\">Built heritage and climate<\/span><h3>Heritage Climate Data and Maintenance Priorities<\/h3><p>A description of a study of one heritage building: the question it asks, its climate data (ERA5, 1940 to 2023), 38 inspection-based defect records, how maintenance priority is defined, and the limits of the study. It does not report model results.<\/p><div class=\"mm-links\" style=\"margin-top:8px\"><a href=\"\/murtadha\/research-areasinterest\/heritage-climate-data\/\">Study description &rarr;<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n      <div class=\"mm-card\"><span class=\"mm-card__k\">Mobile ad hoc networks<\/span><h3>MANET Security and Trust Prediction<\/h3><p>A description of three published IEEE Access articles on trust prediction and routing in mobile ad hoc networks: the problem, what node trust means, the attacks considered, and how the two research articles were evaluated in simulation. It describes the studies only.<\/p><div class=\"mm-links\" style=\"margin-top:8px\"><a href=\"\/murtadha\/research-areasinterest\/manet-trust-prediction\/\">Study description &rarr;<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"mm mm-sec\">\n  <div class=\"mm-inner\">\n    <div class=\"mm-eyebrow-row\"><span class=\"mm-eyebrow\">03 &mdash; Where the work goes<\/span><\/div>\n    <div class=\"mm-lead-2col\">\n      <p>Network security has become a large part of what my group does: intrusion detection for mobile ad-hoc networks, trust-aware routing, federated learning for distributed defence, and drift-aware detection for industrial IoT. Several current doctoral projects sit in this space.<\/p>\n      <p>The other half stays physical. Positioning research needs a real, awkward space to fail in before it works anywhere &mdash; which is why the heritage-building work with KALAM matters more than it looks on paper.<\/p>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"mm-links\">\n      <a href=\"\/murtadha\/scopus-indexed-publications\/\">Publications &rarr;<\/a>\n      <a href=\"\/murtadha\/phd-students\/\">Current students &rarr;<\/a>\n      <a href=\"\/murtadha\/consultancy-industry-engagement\/\">Consultancy &rarr;<\/a>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"mm mm-sec mm-contact\">\n  <div class=\"mm-inner\">\n    <h2>Interested in working on one of these?<\/h2>\n    <a class=\"mm-contact__mail\" href=\"mailto:murtadha@utm.my?subject=Research%20collaboration\">murtadha@utm.my<\/a>\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<footer class=\"ni-footer\"><div class=\"ni-footer-institution\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"ni-lockup ni-lockup--white\" src=\"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/murtadha\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/717\/2026\/09\/New-UTM-ASCEND2030-WT.png\" width=\"1467\" height=\"451\" alt=\"Universiti Teknologi Malaysia \u2014 ASCEND 2030\"><\/div><div><span class=\"ni-label\">UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA<\/span><h2>Mohd Murtadha Mohamad<\/h2><p>Associate Professor \u00b7 Faculty of Computing<\/p><a href=\"mailto:murtadha@utm.my\">murtadha@utm.my &#x2197;<\/a><\/div><nav aria-label=\"Footer\"><a href=\"\/murtadha\/research-areasinterest\/\">Research<\/a><a href=\"\/murtadha\/scopus-indexed-publications\/\">Publications<\/a><a href=\"\/murtadha\/phd-students\/\">People<\/a><a href=\"\/murtadha\/teaching\/\">Teaching<\/a><a href=\"\/murtadha\/consultancy-industry-engagement\/\">Impact<\/a><a href=\"\/murtadha\/biography\/\">About<\/a><a href=\"\/murtadha\/cv\/\">Curriculum vitae<\/a><a href=\"\/murtadha\/social-media\/\">Connect<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1478-0138\">ORCID &#x2197;<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scopus.com\/authid\/detail.uri?authorId=16033644000\">Scopus &#x2197;<\/a><\/nav><p class=\"ni-colophon\">Networked intelligence \u00b7 Johor Bahru, Malaysia<\/p><\/footer><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Skip to content MURTADHANETWORKED INTELLIGENCE ResearchPublicationsPeopleTeachingImpactAbout Contact &#x2197; Menu ResearchPublicationsPeopleTeachingImpactAboutContact &#x2197; Research areas &amp; interest Networks that hold together in difficult places. 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