Faculty of Ocean Engineering Technology — Universiti Malaysia Terengganu

Dr. Ahmad Faisal
Mohamad Ayob

Naval Architecture, Ocean Engineering & Marine Autonomous Vehicles

Associate Professor and researcher specializing in high-speed craft design, autonomous underwater robotics, and digital twin technology. Founder & Managing Director of VSG Labs Sdn Bhd.

Dr. Ahmad Faisal Mohamad Ayob — Associate Professor of Naval Architecture

About

Ahmad Faisal Bin Mohamad Ayob earned his Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from Universiti Malaya in 2006 and completed his PhD in High-Speed Craft Design at the University of New South Wales at the Australian Defence Force Academy in 2011.

Promoted to Associate Professor in January 2019, Dr. Faisal has graduated 3 master's, 1 PhD and more than 50 final-year project students. He is currently the primary supervisor for 8 PhD and 2 master's students.

His research priorities include simulation software development, autonomous underwater robotics, high-speed autonomous crafts, and Digital Twin technology.

Beyond academia, Dr. Faisal showcased his entrepreneurial prowess by founding VSG Labs Sdn Bhd in 2021, an engineering firm affiliated with UMT. His exemplary service was recognized when he was awarded the Anugerah Perkhidmatan Cemerlang for four consecutive years (2016–2019).

80+ Published Papers
540+ Scopus Citations
15 H-Index (Scholar)
12 H-Index (Scopus)
10+ Research Grants
3M+ Grant Value (MYR)
10+ Active PhD Students

Professional Experience

2021 — Present

Founder / Managing Director

VSG Labs Sdn. Bhd., Malaysia

2019 — Present

Associate Professor

Faculty of Ocean Engineering Technology, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu

2016 — 2022

Director of International Centre

Universiti Malaysia Terengganu

Led a tenfold surge in international student enrollment.

2011 — 2018

Senior Lecturer

School of Ocean Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu

2007 — 2008

R&D Engineer

Panasonic H. A. Air Condition Research and Development (M) Sdn. Bhd., Malaysia

2006 — 2007

Vibration Engineer Consultant

Monitoring and Diagnostics Technology Sdn. Bhd., Malaysia

Portfolio of Projects (As Lead)

Industrial-grade solutions secured and delivered.

P-MET Weather Metocean System 2025

Funding: PETRONAS Project Delivery and Technology

Role: Principal Consultant, Project Manager, Lead Programmer

Year: 2025–2026

Amount: RM 165,000.00

Metocean Foresight System

Funding: PETRONAS Research

Role: Principal Consultant, Project Manager

Year: 2025–2026

Amount: RM 1,140,000.00

P-MET Weather Metocean System 2024

Funding: PETRONAS Project Delivery and Technology

Role: Principal Consultant, Project Manager, Lead Programmer

Year: 2024–2025

Amount: RM 229,000.00

Underwater Robot Simulator

Funding: PETRONAS Carigali

Role: Principal Consultant, Project Manager, Lead Programmer

Year: 2023–2024

Amount: RM 128,800.00

P-MET iOS/Android App Development 2022

Funding: PETRONAS Project Delivery and Technology

Role: Principal Consultant, Project Manager, Lead Programmer

Year: 2022

Amount: RM 80,000.00

Ship Simulator Development

Funding: Ministry of Higher Education (PRGS)

Role: Lead Researcher

Year: 2020–2023

Amount: RM 184,700.00

Novel AUV Designs within Genetic Algorithm Framework

Funding: Ministry of Higher Education

Role: Lead Researcher

Year: 2014–2017

Amount: RM 81,200.00

Publications

Ship structure corrosion detection using advanced image processing, active contour algorithm, and parallel processing

Ocean Engineering, 2025, 341, 122351

Development of a Vision-Based Mobile Robot with Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) for Classification of Tomato Ripeness

Engineering Letters, 2025, 33(6), pp. 2078–2088

Accurate Corrosion Detection and Segmentation on Ship Hull with Pixel Property Method

Journal of Advanced Research Design, 2025, 129(1), pp. 148–163

Effective Periodic Noise Reduction for Ship Corrosion Image

Journal of Advanced Research Design, 2025, 129(1), pp. 130–147

Design Considerations and Factors Influencing Floating Offshore Wind Turbines through Numerical Method and Industrial Practice

Journal of Advanced Research Design, 2025, 128(1), pp. 125–143

Advanced Techniques in Ship Corrosion Analysis: Integrating Active Contour Algorithms for Image Segmentation

Journal of Advanced Research Design, 2025, 128(1), pp. 79–99

A critical analysis of machine learning in ship, offshore, and oil & gas corrosion research, part I: Corrosion detection and classification

Ocean Engineering, 2024, 313, 119600

A critical review of machine learning algorithms in maritime, offshore, and oil & gas corrosion research: A comprehensive analysis of ANN and RF models

Ocean Engineering, 2024, 295, 116796

A Review of Predictive Maintenance Approaches for Corrosion Detection and Maintenance of Marine Structures

Journal of Sustainability Science and Management, 2024, 19(4), pp. 182–202

Dynamic Analysis and Circuit Design of a New 3D Highly Chaotic System and its Application to Pseudo Random Number Generator (PRNG) and Image Encryption

SN Computer Science, 2024, 5(4), 420

Neuroevolutionary Reinforcement Learning of an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle in Confined Space

Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering, 2024, 1248 LNEE, pp. 115–124

Failure Analysis of a Connecting Rod Bearing of a Diesel Engine Generator Set

Advanced Structured Materials, 2024, 215, pp. 123–131

Identification of Connecting Rod Diesel Engine Generator Set 3516 B Series Using the Finite Element Method

AIP Conference Proceedings, 2024, 3115(1), 060003

Risk Management of Coastal Ring Roads to Rate Abrasion on The Lhokseumawe City

Journal of Advanced Research in Applied Sciences and Engineering Technology, 2024, 39(1), pp. 168–182

Real-time Analysis of Inverter Performance via SCADA Haiwell Online Monitoring

Journal of Advanced Research in Applied Sciences and Engineering Technology, 2024, 37(1), pp. 99–114

Failure Analysis of Valve Unit for MAN 9L21/31 Diesel Engine Generator

Journal of Advanced Research in Applied Sciences and Engineering Technology, 2024, 33(3), pp. 185–193

Color-based image processing techniques for laser range finder: A comparative study on air and water distance detection

Proceedings of SPIE, 2024, 12938, 129381A

Real-time Detection and Classification of Fish in Underwater Environment Using YOLOv5: A Comparative Study of Deep Learning Architectures

Informatyka Automatyka Pomiary w Gospodarce i Ochronie Srodowiska, 2024, 14(3), pp. 91–95

Electronic Circuit in the Two-Scroll Hyperchaotic System with a Unique Saddle-Point Rest Point and its Synchronization via Integral Sliding Mode Control

IAENG International Journal of Applied Mathematics, 2024, 54(3), pp. 452–464

Application of Artificial Intelligence in Marine Corrosion Prediction and Detection

Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 2023, 11(2), 256

Computer Vision and Image Processing Approaches for Corrosion Detection

Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 2023, 11(10), 1954

Efficient, accurate and fast pupil segmentation for pupillary boundary in iris recognition

Advances in Engineering Software, 2023, 175, 103352

Investigation of chaotic behavior and adaptive type-2 fuzzy controller approach for Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator (PMSG) wind turbine system

AIMS Mathematics, 2023, 8(3), pp. 5670–5686

Evaluation of Neuroevolutionary Approach to Navigate Autonomous Surface Vehicles in Restricted Waters

Defence S and T Technical Bulletin, 2023, 16(1), pp. 24–36

Enhancing Production Process Performance in Traditional Shipyards: An Integrated Approach for Waste Identification and Performance Optimization

Journal of Optimization in Industrial Engineering, 2023, 16(2), pp. 221–241

Continuous Improvement Strategy in Traditional Shipyard Industry: A Holistic Approach towards Sustainability

Journal of Optimization in Industrial Engineering, 2023, 16(1), pp. 255–268

Work system design using macroergonomic analysis and design approach to increase productivity

AIP Conference Proceedings, 2023, 2484, 040004

An intelligent autonomous surface vehicle manoeuvring analysis in restricted waters via neuroevolutionary method

AIP Conference Proceedings, 2023, 2484, 060001

Identification of waste for shipyard through lean manufacturing approach

AIP Conference Proceedings, 2023, 2484, 040013

Defect analysis to improve quality of traditional shipbuilding processes in West Aceh District, Indonesia

AIP Conference Proceedings, 2023, 2484, 020004

A Brief Review of Unmanned Underwater Vehicle Human-Machine Interaction

IEEE 9th International Conference on Underwater System Technology: Theory and Applications, 2022

Adaptive Initial Contour and Partly-Normalization Algorithm for Iris Segmentation of Blurry Iris Images

Journal of Information and Communication Technology, 2022, 21(3), pp. 411–435

Investigation and failure analysis of a diesel generator connecting rod

Mechanical Engineering for Society and Industry, 2022, 2(2), pp. 64–71

State of the Art Review on Autonomous Surface Vehicle Maneuvering Assessment

Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering, 2022, 770, pp. 105–113

Applications of artificial intelligence in ship berthing: A review

Indian Journal of Geo Marine Sciences, 2021, 50(11), pp. 855–863

Convolutional Neural Network Architectures Performance Evaluation for Fish Species Classification

Journal of Sustainability Science and Management, 2021, 16(5), pp. 124–139

myBas driving cycle for Kuala Terengganu city

International Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 2021, 11(3), pp. 2054–2061

Iris Segmentation Based on an Adaptive Initial Contour and Partly-Normalization

Communications in Computer and Information Science, 2021, 1489 CCIS, pp. 231–240

Analysis of pruned neural networks (MobileNetV2-YOLO v2) for underwater object detection

Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering, 2021, 666, pp. 87–98

COVID-19 exit strategy: Transitioning towards a new normal

Annals of Medicine and Surgery, 2020, 59, pp. 165–170

Neuroevolutionary autonomous surface vehicle simulation in restricted waters

TransNav, 2020, 14(4), pp. 865–873

Dynamic responses of moored installation vessel during lifting operation due to environmental load

IEEE 7th International Conference on Underwater System Technology: Theory and Applications, 2017

Investigating pectoral shapes and locomotive strategies for conceptual designing bio-inspired robotic fish

Journal of Engineering Science and Technology, 2017, 12(1), pp. 1–14

An efficient Memetic algorithm for 3D shape matching problems

Engineering Optimization, 2014, 46(5), pp. 687–703

Rheology study of plant oil for marine application

Procedia Engineering, 2013, 68, pp. 138–144

A hydrodynamic preliminary design optimization framework for high speed planing craft

Journal of Ship Research, 2012, 56(1), pp. 35–47

Hull surface information retrieval and optimization of high speed planing craft

IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 2012, 36(1), 012034

The quest for optimum high speed planing craft design

RINA International Maritime Conference, Pacific 2012, pp. 507–516

A smart repair embedded memetic algorithm for 2D shape matching problems

Engineering Optimization, 2012, 44(10), pp. 1229–1243

The effect of boron friction modifier on the performance of brake pads

International Journal of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, 2012, 7(1), pp. 31–35

The design of high speed planing craft using an optimization framework

ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, 2012, 4, pp. 11–20

Beyond hydrodynamic design optimization of planing craft

Transactions of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, 2011, 119, pp. 473–485

Uncovering secrets behind low-resistance planing craft hull forms through optimization

Engineering Optimization, 2011, 43(11), pp. 1161–1173

Scenario-based hydrodynamic design optimization of high speed planing craft for coastal surveillance

IEEE Congress of Evolutionary Computation, 2011, pp. 354–361

A novel evolutionary approach for 2D shape matching based on B-spline modeling

IEEE Congress of Evolutionary Computation, 2011, pp. 655–661

Beyond hydrodynamic design optimization of planing craft

Journal of Ship Production, 2011, 27(1), pp. 1–13

Hydrodynamic design optimization of a hard chine planing craft for coastal surveillance

International Maritime Conference, Pacific 2010, pp. 73–82

An optimization framework for the design of planing craft

RINA International Conference on Computer Applications in Shipbuilding, 2009, 2, pp. 1028–1057

Research Collaborations

Prof. Dr. Kenjiro T. Miura

Japan

Shizuoka University, Japan

Research focus: B-spline surface representation and autonomous vehicle development

Prof. Dr. Tapabrata Ray

Australia

University of New South Wales, Australia

Research focus: Optimization algorithms and computational design

Dr. Mujiarto

Indonesia

Universitas Tasik Malaya, Indonesia

Research focus: Regional maritime technology development

Dr. Nur Afande Ali Hussain

Malaysia

Science and Technology Research and Development (STRIDE), Ministry of Defense, Malaysia

Research focus: Defense applications of autonomous systems

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zulkifli Zainal

Malaysia

Center for Autonomous Vehicle, IIUM, Malaysia

Research focus: Autonomous vehicle development

Prof. Ir. Dr. Mohd Rizal Arshad

Malaysia

Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia

Research focus: Academic Mentorship

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Faculty of Ocean Engineering Technology, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu