Drones

about R95 000 ( the majority of this cost is for the camera ), while an off-the-shelf DJI Phantom with just a visual camera will cost around R25 000 . Paterson says their data contracts vary , “ but we can process data from most drone systems out there .”

Their focus is on processing the data and rendering it useful to the farmers , which seems a good idea – often farmers want to invest in new technology but want the data to be useful to them at the end of the day . Farmers have before expressed to SABI magazine they are astounded by the amounts of data from weather stations and the like - and would like to know what it all means ultimately . Aerobotics have worked hard to keep the process simple and userfriendly , however .

Says Paterson : “ Aerobotics aim to provide a constant , realtime monitoring solution . Since there is so much data around , the challenge is to keep things as simple as possible and only alert the farmer when his attention is required .”

“ A big focus for us is to make the process as easy as possible . We provide an app with our systems to plan completely automated flights by just drawing the area you want to fly on a map . No software is needed , once the flight is complete , the client drags the images into our online interface and we handle all the processing . After that , the client can log into their account and view all their data online , see what has changed from previous flights , as well as generate reports .”

Aerobotics ’ core product is a Farming Management Tool- and is suitable to all crop varieties . However the team is focussing their early efforts on certain industries to target specific problems , like diseases in crops . They have started off working in the sugar cane , macadamia and citrus industries .

Huge opportunity for farmers in data

Harnessing drones in to the water management toolbox , looks a trend set to grow . As Aerobotics

explain that drone imagery can be used to assess crop stress at centimetre resolutions ! And on a regular basis . “ This allows farmers to track individual plants ’ performance over time and act accordingly . Longer term water stress can be detected by the drones , but detecting day-to-day water stress is still in development .”

Like many pundits locally and internationally , Aerobotics says there is a “ huge opportunity for farmers to become more data driven , basing their decisions on fact rather than assumption . Drone imaging offers this type of solution , where all decisions can be backed up with the data - and comparable over time .” They envisage this technology forming a big part of farming going forward .

“ While drone technology is new , there is no doubt that it will form a large part of farming operations in the future . In the next 10 years , I see all farms having systems on their farm that regularly fly over the farm completely autonomously ( without the need

for an operator ). The main applications would be collecting and analyzing information and then acting on this information through targeted , variable-rate applications from the air ( such as fertilizers and pesticides ). It would be the most efficient if the two systems ( scanning and application ) could run at the same time ,” says Paterson .

“ Since there is so much information being collected , a big focus ( of Aerobotics ) is to keep things as simple as possible , automatically analyze the data for the farmer , and only alert the farmer when his attention is required .” No doubt farmers will welcome more precise decision making enhancement – and only when his or her attention is really needed !

For more information , contact Aerobotics : info @ aerobotics . co . za http :// www . aerobotics . co . za /

* In our next edition a look at the use of satellites in water use estimation and agriculture