USM develop 5kg sUAS

GEORGE TOWN, Dec 29 (Bernama) — A group of local researchers from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) have successfully developed an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), the first of its type here.

Collaborative Micro-Electronics Design Excellence Centre (CEDEC) director Dr Othman Sidek said the UAV was the first developed by Malaysians and had a number of special features.

“The UAV is designed in such a way that it can be used to observe conditions under extremely dangerous situations like an earthquake, floods and tsunami. It can also be used for industrial purposes in agriculture,” he told reporters here today.

Dr Othman said the UAVs used at research centres in the country currently were imported from other countries.

He said the UAV invented by USM and known as UAV Greeentech 2010, weighs just 5kg, has a speed of 55kph and can fly as high as 300m for 60 minutes.

The research team headed by Endri Rachman took about three years to complete the project which cost about RM200,000.

“We hope to commercialize the invention and produce it locally because it can be sold cheaper than the ones in the market now,” he said.