PUTRAJAYA, Dec 18 — The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti) has been tasked to prepare a paper on Low-Touch Infrastructure and Economic Initiatives in line with the behavioural changes due to Covid-19, said its Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

"This will require a paradigm shift in how we look interact both with each other and the world around us,” he said in a statement today.

Khairy said some of the low-touch initiatives that had quickly been identified include autonomous floor scrubbers, autonomous power assist robots to carry goods and smart waste management systems in public markets.

He said some of these initiatives would be realised via the National Technology & Innovation Sandbox.

Khairy said he chaired the first High-Tech Nation Council meeting yesterday, which aimed to give strategic direction regarding existing and upcoming technology that had the potential to be developed in Malaysia.

The programmes, roadmaps and policies under the High-Tech Nation Council would be driven by the MySTIE 10-10 and National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy 2021-2030, he said.

"This council will be proactive and champion upcoming technologies that we need to embark on as a nation to position us at the forefront of what is current and what is cutting-edge,” he said.

At the meeting, Khairy said Mosti presented nine roadmaps that currently being developed under its agencies and they would be unveiled by the middle of 2021.

"These roadmaps will guide our investments and policy direction in rolling out these technologies. They will cover blockchain, nanotechnology, robotics, hydrogen, artificial intelligence, integrated circuits and advanced materials among others,” he said. — Bernama