The Increasing Use of Drones in Agriculture: A Look at the Future

Drones, also known as UAVs or UAS, are becoming increasingly popular in agriculture.

These flying robots are equipped with sensors, including GPS, and can be given a Flight Plan to follow autonomously.

While drones are commonly associated with aerial photography and videography, they also have practical applications in agriculture. Drones can provide farmers with ground truth data that is difficult to obtain through traditional methods. This includes confirmation of plant growth, early detection of problems, and fertilizer planning.

Drones are capable of carrying cameras and taking pictures with precision, providing an unobstructed bird’s-eye view of crops.

After flying over a field in a pattern, the pictures are geotagged and stitched together into a large mosaic.

Software is then used to interpret the amount of light reflected in different wavelengths, making areas of healthy growth stand out compared to areas of poor growth or stressed plants. This data allows for better decision-making by farmers, as problems can be detected earlier and more accurately.

The principle behind drone imaging is the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), which uses near-infrared reflection to identify vegetated areas and their overall condition. While NDVI has practical limitations, it allows modern drones to take pictures of crops with specialized cameras and turn the data into a color-coded aerial map that is easily understood.

While providing growth maps and health reports is currently the most mature application of drones in agriculture, other applications are on the horizon. These include using drones to plan and dispense fertilizer directly, as well as managing irrigation hardware in areas where irrigation farming is common. However, there are challenges to drone usage in agriculture, including weather dependence, limited flight time, and expensive equipment.

Despite these challenges, the use of drones in agriculture is a budding industry that is growing quickly. As high-tech solutions and expensive equipment are not new to the world of agriculture, it is likely that drones will become increasingly popular in the coming years.