Malaysian researchers have created a strategy to transform the fibre identified in ordinarily discarded pineapple leaves to make a sturdy material that can be used to make the frames for unmanned aircraft, or drones.
The project, headed by Professor Mohamed Thariq Hameed Sultan at Malaysia’s Putra University, has been attempting to obtain sustainable makes use of for pineapple waste generated by farmers in Hulu Langat, an region 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 at a workshop.
Mohamed Thariq stated drones created out of the bio-composite material had a larger strength-to-weight ratio than these created from synthetic fibres, and had been also less expensive, lighter and a lot easier to dispose of.
If the drone was broken, the frame could be buried in the ground and would degrade inside two weeks, he stated.
The prototype drones have been capable to fly to a height of about 1,000 metres (3,280 ft) and remain in the air for about 20 minutes, he added.
Ultimately, the analysis group hopes to make a bigger drone to accommodate larger payloads, such as 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,” stated William Robert Alvisse of the Malaysian Unmanned Drones Activist Society, a non-governmental group assisting to design and style the drone and advising on the project.
Before the project launched in 2017, pineapple stems had been discarded soon after the as soon as-in-a-year harvest period, but farmers hope the drones project will encourage more innovation to obtain makes use of for the waste and increase incomes.
“With the health issue, the economy problem due to COVID-19, the society is desperate and there is no alternative to increase income,” stated pineapple farmer Irwan Ismail.