Drones For Agriculture – Event 38 Unmanned Systems

“Why should I use a drone for Agriculture?”

Assess damages
Increase yield
Estimate ROI

Drones for agriculture?

What is a drone agriculture survey?

A drone survey refers to the use of a drone to capture aerial data with downward-facing sensors, such as RGB or Multispectral payloads. During a drone survey with an RGB camera, the ground is photographed multiple times and each image is tagged with coordinates.

After flight, these photos are processed in photogrammetry software such as PIX4D or Agisoft Metashape. The photogrammetry software can then recreate geo-referenced 3D maps, contour lines, digital terrain models, or digital surface models to be reviewed in geospatial software such as ArcGIS or QGIS.

What makes a drone the best option for aerial imagery?

A drone flies at the ideal cruising speed and altitude for extremely high-resolution imagery. Airplanes and satellites fly too fast and too high, which means they can’t capture the same level of detail. Drones can capture imagery and GPS data at the same time, giving you more information so you can create a more accurate rendering of the area.

RGB

Chlorophyll

CIR

NDRE

DSM

NDVI

MicaSense Rededge MX Imagery

How can multispectral imaging help me?

What is multispectral imaging?

The colors we see in light are defined by the wavelength of that light. Plants absorb and reflect light differently depending on this wavelength. Plants typically absorb blue light and red light, while reflecting some green light. They also reflect a much larger amount of near-infrared (NIR) light, which is not visible to the human eye but is visible to multispectral cameras like the Micasense RedEdge and Altum. Reflectance is the percentage of light that is reflected by the plant. By measuring the reflectance of a plant at different wavelengths, multispectral imaging enables identification of areas of stress in a crop, and provides a quantitative metric for the vigor of a plant.

What applications does multispectral imagery cover?

Leak Scouting
Species Differentiation
Fertilizer Management
Crop Health Mapping
Disease Identification
Water Management
Weed Detection
Terrain Modeling

When you invest in a drone, you’re investing in a long-term monitoring tool.

Consistent data for long-term surveying.

Fly the same route over and over to collect data the same way every time.
Capture regular pictures of your land.
Monitor plant health and expected yield to prepare for years to come.
Track information for insurance claims.

Make the investment today. When you invest in a drone, you’re investing in your future. Fly as often as needed to gather the data needed to keep your projects on track.

Learn more about the E400

“Why should I use a drone for Agriculture?”