After moving up from 30th to 21st place in the Drone Readiness Index (DRI), Malaysia’s drone sector is thriving. On the Index, it is also the highest-ranked nation in Southeast Asia.
According to the DRI, the nation’s overall drone readiness increased by 29 percentage points to 60% from 31% the year before.
According to Dzuleira Abu Bakar, CEO of the Malaysian Research Accelerator for Technology and Innovation (MRANTI), “Our achievement in the DRI is an early outcome of the Malaysia Drone Technology Action Plan 2022 – 2030 (MDTAP30) and other initiatives which involve strong collaboration by multiple agencies and stakeholders.”
She acknowledged the National Disaster Relief Management Agency (NADMA), the Department of Survey and Mapping (JUPEM), the Malaysian Space Agency (MYSA), the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM), the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (BOMBA), and others for their assistance.
According to Dzuleira, the MDTAP30’s primary objectives are the creation of a national Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) system, a digital portal for drone registration, the adoption of unique drone use cases in important industries, and talent development initiatives like the accreditation of Remote Pilot Training Organizations (RPTO).
The annual DRI updates, which are a component of the Drone Regulation Report from Drone Industry Insights (DII), rank participating nations according to six criteria: application, operational scope, human resources, administrative infrastructure, certification, and airspace integration.
According to the survey, the UK, Brazil, Switzerland, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, and China have seen the largest increases in drone readiness.
With areas for improvement in operational scope (50% ready), airspace integration (40% readiness), and administrative infrastructure (25% readiness), Malaysia received a 100% rating for applicability, human resources, and certification.
MRANTI
In order to advance the drone sector in Malaysia, MRANTI, the coordinating agency and secretariat for MDTAP30, has introduced Area57, a centre of excellence, in 2021. When completed, the 6-acre Area57 will contain workshops for services and maintenance, design and simulation, prototype development and manufacture, training, as well as equipment for testing and certification.
The National Technology and Innovation Sandbox was established by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MOSTI) in order to promote the development of Malaysia’s drone sector (NTIS).
NTIS
The NTIS focuses on the creation and evaluation of technologies in real-world settings. Companies can get help with funding for commercialization, regulatory support, and market development through the NTIS.
25 applications for drone technology have been authorised for testing in several Sandbox programmes.
From 2020 to 2022, NTIS funded a total of US$2.259 (RM10 million) to 19 Malaysian drone businesses. These drone businesses provide services for many different industries, but the majority of them are in agriculture, medical delivery, infrastructure, security surveillance, and other areas. Drones are being tested in these Sandboxes for a variety of tasks, such as spraying, mapping, plant analysis, and warehousing, among others.
To promote the growth of Malaysia’s drone sector, the NTIS has the solid support of 50 Innovation Accelerator Network (IAN) partners, including IT behemoths, conglomerates, and multinationals.
Malaysia’s Aerodyne Group and Meraque are among the top 20 companies worldwide in the Drone Services Providers Ranking 2022, which is also published by DII. The top-ranked company, Aerodyne, has more than a thousand workers and has raised more than US$ 60 million in fundraising rounds.
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