Drones tested for urban sanitisation

KUCHING, 31 Mac -- Anggota Bomba dan Penyelamat Sarawak menjalankan proses penyahkuman atau disinfeksi di sekitar Bandaraya Kuching pada hari kedua program sanitasi awam COVID-19 yang bertujuan untuk membantu Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia di kawasan yang menjadi tumpuan orang awam. --fotoBERNAMA (2020) HAK CIPTA TERPELIHARA

KUALA LUMPUR: Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) is testing out drones to help with the sanitisation of high-rise buildings.

DBKL is engaging a private drone firm to evaluate the suitability of drones during a city-wide sanitisation exercise, said Federal Territories Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa.

“Drones are one of the options to disinfect high-rise buildings but DBKL has to study their feasibility. Some places in the city are not suitable, especially if there are electric wires and lamp posts in the vicinity or if the weather is too windy.

“If it can reach the corridors of a high-rise building, it would save a lot of manpower.

“DBKL also needs to study if the disinfectant can reach the targeted areas, ” he said after visiting the large-scale disinfection exercise at Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur.

A 1.2m-wide drone was seen being tested out in Jalan Hassan Salleh, Kuala Lumpur.

“Our drones are used for agricultural spraying but the nozzle can be customised to fit specific purposes.

“With a 20-minute flight time and eight spraying nozzles, it can carry 16 litres of disinfectant, ” said Dronology Sdn Bhd lead research engineer David Amuthesan.