Drone Technology Descends on the Agriculture Industry

At this year’s SIMA in Paris, one of the most important international agricultural business trade shows in the world, farmers and agricultural industry executives were introduced to a number of drones specifically designed to help farmers around the world work smarter and more efficiently in areas such as crop inspection, irrigation management, crop consulting and spraying.  By utilising innovative drone technology coupled with the very latest software farmers are able to reduce the time it takes to complete routine tasks, maximise crop yields and ultimately increase their profits.

SIMA 2017 Credit: DJI

One of the stars of the show was DJI’s AGRAS MG-1S, an upgrade of the DJI AGRAS MG-1 which was launched back in 2015.The AGRAS MG-1S integrates a number of cutting-edge DJI technologies, including the new A3 Flight Controller which has an algorithm optimised for agricultural use ensuring stable flight even with sloshing liquids disrupting the balance of the aerial platform. The radar system is made up of three high-precision, millimetre wave radars that are placed on the front slope, rear slope and the bottom of the spray tank. Radars on the front and the rear slopes of the spray tank detect the terrain allowing the aircraft to adjust its height. The downward radar then provides high-precision height. As the radars scan, the MG-1S is able to perceive the change of terrain, adjust its altitude and maintain its altitude above the crops providing additional reliability during flight. When paired with the MG Intelligent Operation Planning System and the DJI Agriculture Management Platform, farmers are able to work with a powerful tool to plan operations, manage flights in real-time, and closely monitor the aircraft operating status.

DJI AGRAS-MG-1S Credit:DJI

Farmers increase profits with dedicated software

To get the most from drone technology farmers should choose a software package that allows them to fully exploit using an aerial platform like the AGRAS MG-1S or DJI Matrice platforms.

The DJI Smarter Farming package is an end to end solution for precision agriculture. The package enables complete crop analysis management  thanks to DJI’s aerial mapping technology and the use of PrecisionHawk software. Farmers are not only able to complete tasks much quicker but they are also able to get a more precise picture of the health of their fields.

A healthy future for technology in the agriculture industry

Traditionally farmers have had to spend many hours in their fields to carry out their day-to-day work but with over 230,000 visitors from five continents to SIMA, it’s clear that farmers are ready and willing to embrace the very latest innovative technology to save time and grow both their fields and businesses.

 

 

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Car License for Drones?

On March 22, 2017, global leader in consumer drone manufacturing DJI published a white paper that brings innovative thought-leadership to industry regulation. With the occasional media stories of privacy intrusion or drones being used for nefarious purposes, there is an increasing call for more robust governance.

Currently the US has a registration process, so if for any reason a drone gets into the hands of authorities following an infraction, the registration number can be verified against a database and the owner identified. However, in the case of a real-time incident where the aircraft is aloft, still hovering high in the sky so no registration number or identifier is visible, it would be difficult for authorities on the ground to be able to act.  For example, if a drone flies over a National Park, which is largely prohibited in the USA, and then the aircraft disappears from sight, how is an observing Police Officer or Park Ranger able to determine the culprit?

For this reason, DJI has suggested a unique, real-time solution to identification. Every drone would transmit, by radio, its location as well as a registration or other unique code.

DJI’s idea is that each drone has an inexpensive system on board that broadcasts its location and an identification number so that a person on the ground with the correct equipment can receive the broadcast. The name and address of the owner would not be revealed at that point, hence maintaining the owner’s privacy. Only law enforcement or FAA authorities would have that capability.

Brendan Schulman, DJI Vice President of Policy and Legal Affairs commented, “DJI understands that accountability is a key part of responsible drone use, and we have outlined a proposal that balances the privacy of drone operators with the legitimate concerns authorities have about some drone operations,” he continues, “this is another example of how the UAS industry is innovating solutions to emerging concerns, and we look forward to working with other stakeholders on how to implement the best possible system.”

The FAA was instructed by Congress to develop ways to identify pilots of drones and was given a 2-year deadline to do so. DJI’s white paper is suggesting a workable solution. The system has been likened to cars having a license plate; anyone can see the plate but only authorities can identify the name and address of the owner.

The technology that DJI is suggesting could easily be integrated into drones. For example, DJI’s most recent releases, primarily the DJI Mavic Pro, Phantom 4 Professional, M200 and Inspire 2 (with X5S camera) would all be suitable candidates as could all other aircraft in the DJI fleet.

The technical solution that has been suggested by DJI is relatively simple to implement and if widely adopted by all drone industry manufacturers, could go one step closer to making these flying miracles safer for the whole community.

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