Inventorying the Placement of Carved Components in Traditional Malay House Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV): Case Studies of Rumah Limas Bumbung Perak (RLBP)

Abstract The inventory of traditional Malay houses and their carved components can be very critical and important, particularly with the current decreasing availability of traditional Malay houses that are rapidly disappearing due to the aggressive urbanization process. In addition, the inappropriate placement of carved components in the modern contemporary building design illustrates a misleading image about the identity and heritage of traditional Malay architecture, particularly its traditional Malay house. The conventional inventory method can be very complicated, with physically limited accessibility and view, especially in the higher and inaccessible areas, which can lead to a time-consuming and risky process. This requires multiple tools and processes that simultaneously require more resources. Therefore, the aim of this research is to inventory the carved components of one of the traditional Malay house types in Malaysia, Rumah Limas Bumbung Perak (RLBP), using the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) that is known as a drone. The research is conducted on selected RLBP houses that are located along the Perak River basin. The data is collected using a DJI Mini Drone in the form of photographs and recorded footage. The process is assisted by the carved component inventory checklist that has been established by previous researchers. The findings of the research found that there are 14 common placements of carved components found in RLBP, and it was also found that the inventory process using drones is more efficient and requires less time. The findings of the research contribute to strengthening the existing research on the architectural heritage of RLBP and support the usage of drones in built heritage research, which can ease and speed up the data collection process.