Scientists are turning pineapple leaves into drone parts

Drones these days are being used in a wide variety of areas. From scientific research to surveillance and from movie shooting to product delivery to even parties, these devices are being used almost everywhere today. Now, Malaysian scientists have found a way to make these drones even smarter.

Malaysian researchers have developed a technique that transforms discarded pineapple leaves to make a material that can be used for making frames for drones.

As per a Reuters report, the project that is headed by Professor Mohamed Thariq Hameed Sultan at Malaysia’s Putra University that is located 65km from Kuala Lumpur, has been focusing on transforming pineapple leaves into a fibre that can be used in various aerospace applications.

Now, Mohamed Thariq and his team have created a fibre that can be used for making drone parts. In a statement to the news agency, he said that drones made out of bio-composite material have a higher strength-to-weight ratio than those made from synthetic fibres. They are also lighter, cheaper and easier to dispose of. This means that even if a drone made of this fibre got damaged, it would degrade within two weeks after being buried in the ground -- making them eco-friendly.

It all sounds great in theory but is it any good in reality? Well, the report says that the prototype drones that they have created have been able to fly to a height of around 1,000 metres and stay in the air for about 20 minutes.

The researchers are now planning to make a bigger drone using this technique that can be used in various real-life situations such as delivering bigger payloads and including more sensors among other things.