Drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), have become a staple in today’s world.
Whether for search and rescue, border patrols, or even covering significant events such as concerts, UAVs have become a standard for some within the industry.
It is especially true for the agricultural sector, as large tracts of farmland and plantation must be covered quickly. Traditional means of covering such a large area would cost money and time.
PIESAT Information Technology Co. Ltd. has introduced its latest in UAV technological innovation. Dubbed the PIE-U28 Electric UAV System, this piece of aerial technology has the power to increase agricultural productivity.
Fan Fan, senior marketing manager of PIESAT Information Technology, said that PIESAT’s latest UAV was an eVTOL (electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing), drone.
The UAV is equipped with a large-capacity semi-solid lithium polymer battery that lasts two hours. It provides adequate time for farmers and other industry players to survey their farmlands or plantations.
“PIE-U28 also features safeguards that enable the drone to traverse abnormal atmospheric conditions safely, and even features an onboard autopilot function that can minimise the risk of collisions or accidents,” said Fan.
The UAV can also be fitted with multiple payloads, ranging from aerial cameras, hyperspectral cameras, oblique cameras, and so on, to collect different types of data with impeccable accuracy.
With the features of the PIE-U28 and the ease of preparing the drone, the UAV can quickly access farmlands or plantations from the air and capture high-resolution images and data. The data will be processed by professional post-processing software to convert them into high-accuracy orthophoto maps, or three-dimensional models with surface features.
They can be directly identified on the image map. The UAVs’ sensors can also capture RGB (red, green, blue), thermal, and multispectral images.
These onboard features can help agricultural industry players capture accurate data on their farmlands and plantations, allowing players to analyse the health status of their farmlands and plantations.
“Utilising the data gathered by drones, industry players can take the necessary actions or precautions to ensure that the productivity of their farmlands and plantations is at their optimal level, and to protect their crops and yields,” Fan added.
He pointed out that industry players could also utilise the Digital Farming Application. The data gathered from the UAV can be combined with satellite and ground sensor data to form real-time and space-time data, which gives industry players detailed information about their farmlands and plantations, including the planting plan, condition assessments, and even stress analysis and statistics.
This can be a significant advantage for agricultural industry players to optimise and expand their operations. – Green Xtra