Malaysia has tremendous potential to be an early bird and to become a major player in the global drone service market, which is expected to reach RM267.4 billion by 2025, said Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah.“It is time we harnessed this talent to modernise traditional methods used even today in major industries across the globe,” he said here today at the launch of Oryctes, Malaysia’s first spot precision drone designed specifically for oil palm plantations.
Oryctes has been engineered to eradicate agricultural pests known to inflict extensive damage on young oil palm trees by spraying pesticidal fluids directly onto the vulnerable spot of the tree using precision spot application technology. The foldable drone covers two to three hectares of spraying every hour and comes with a customisable spray system. It is available in two models.