Malaysian Researchers Turn Pineapple Leaves Into Strong, Lightweight, Biodegradable Drones

A team of researchers in Malaysia is turning waste products of the pineapple industry into a bio-composite material strong enough to create parts for drones which are stronger, cheaper, and easier to dispose of than their existing counterparts.

"We are transforming the leaf of the pineapple into a fiber that can be used for aerospace application," project lead Professor Mohamed Thariq Hameed Sultan of Malaysia's Putra University explained in a workshop attended by Reuters, "basically inventing a drone."

Made from a fiber extracted from the traditionally-discarded leaves of the pineapple plant, the prototype drones showcased at the workshop operate much like their traditional counterparts — but their chassis boast a higher strength for a given weight of material, cost less, and can be disposed of by simply burying them in the ground for two weeks.

The Professor is reportedly working with the Malaysian Unmanned Drones Activist Society on building larger drones for agricultural projects, helping pineapple farmers to increase their yields — and in turn generating more materials for processing into drone parts.

More information is available on Reuters.