Malaysian Team Turns Pineapple Waste Into Disposable Drone Parts

Drones made out of the bio-composite material have a higher strength-to-weight ratio than those made from synthetic fibres, researchers said.

By Reuters | Updated: 6 January 2021 11:59 IST

Malaysian Team Turns Pineapple Waste Into Disposable Drone Parts

Professor Mohamed Thariq holds pineapple leaves and a drone partially made with pineapple stems

Highlights

Drones made of bio-composite had a higher strength-to-weight ratio
These drones were also cheaper, lighter and easier to dispose of
Prototype drones have been able to fly to a height of about 1,000 metres

Malaysian researchers have developed a method to transform the fibre found in normally discarded pineapple leaves to make a strong material that can be used to build the frames for unmanned aircraft, or drones.

The project, headed by Professor Mohamed Thariq Hameed Sultan at Malaysia's Putra University, has been trying to find sustainable uses for pineapple waste generated by farmers in Hulu Langat, an area about 65 km (40 miles) from Kuala Lumpur.

"We are transforming the leaf of the pineapple into a fibre that can be used for aerospace application, basically inventing a drone," he told Reuters at a workshop.

[Sponsored] Samsung Galaxy S24: The Ultimate Camera Phone With Smarter On-Device AI

Mohamed Thariq said drones made out of the bio-composite material had a higher strength-to-weight ratio than those made from synthetic fibres, and were also cheaper, lighter, and easier to dispose of.

A student holds pineapple leaf fibres at a workshop of University Putra Malaysia, in Serdang, Malaysia

If the drone was damaged, the frame could be buried in the ground and would degrade within two weeks, he said.

DJI Mini 2 With 4K Video Support and 31 Minutes Flight Time Launched

The prototype drones have been able to fly to a height of about 1,000 metres (3,280 ft) and stay in the air for about 20 minutes, he added.

Ultimately, the research team hopes to create a larger drone to accommodate bigger payloads, including imagery sensors, for agricultural purposes and aerial inspections.

"Our role here is to help the industry, the farmers, to increase their yield and make their jobs much easier," said William Robert Alvisse of the Malaysian Unmanned Drones Activist Society, a non-governmental group helping to design the drone and advising on the project.

Before the project launched in 2017, pineapple stems were discarded after the once-in-a-year harvest period, but farmers hope the drones project will encourage more innovation to find uses for the waste and boost incomes.

"With the health issue, the economy problem due to COVID-19, the society is desperate and there is no alternative to increase income," said pineapple farmer Irwan Ismail.

What will be the most exciting tech launch of 2021? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.