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. These would be cheaper, lighter, and also easy to dispose of. If the drone was damaged, the frame could be buried in the ground and would degrade within two weeks.
The prototype drones made by Professor Mohamed Thariq Hameed Sultan and his team, at Malaysia’s Putra University, 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. The drone, named Putra Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) or Putra UAV.
