Drones Help Farmers Document Progress and Health of Crops

First Posted: Jun 05, 2014 02:11 PM EDT
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We typically think of drones being used for modern warfare, but they also possess the ability to perform practical tasks. Researchers at the University of Illinois believe that drones can be efficiently utilized to help farmers document their crop progress.

Dennis Bowman is a crop sciences educator at the University of Illinois Extension - the flagship outreach effort of the University that offers educations programs to residents of Illinois' 102 counties. He purchased two drones since the fall, both of which are multi-rotor helicopters. One is a remote-controlled Phantom, manufactured by DJI Innovations, and the other is an A.R. Drone 2.0 with GPS from the French wireless electronics manufacturer, Parrot.

Bowman presented his findings at the 2014 Ford/Iroquois County Agronomy Day meeting, where farmers and other researchers were present. He showed them that the aerial photography provided by the drones can help farmers check on the progress of their crops and document all pertinent information, especially if crops need to be replanted or receive more care.

"Standard pictures and video taken with drones can tell us a lot," Bowman said in a news release. "But what we're looking to give us even more information is multispectral cameras that can give us imagery in other wavelengths, such as near-infrared, to help us identify areas of crop stress. It probably isn't going to tell us what the problem is, but it will tell us where problems are so that we can target our scouting in those specific areas and determine what might be occurring."

The simplicity of the drones' use is also likely appealing to farmers. The Parrot drone can be operated through the use of a smartphone or tablet using either Apple or Andriod operating systems and Wi-Fi signals. The Phantom locks onto GPS satellites once it's turned on to establish its home position. When it's turned off, it returns within one meter of the home position. The drones were equipped with a Canon Powershot SX260 camera to take pictures of the crops.

But it won't be until 2015 that drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, can be used for agricultural or retail purposes. The Federal Aviation Administration will release their new policies on drones by then and hopefully businesses will be able to use the devices to further expedite certain tasks and processes.

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