Bespoke R&D Drone System Demonstrates Significant Commercial Potential

News - 22.11.24

A cutting-edge drone-mounted spectrometry system, developed by Agrii to enhance its R&D programme with advanced plot analyses during the growing season, is now being adapted into a crop monitoring tool with substantial potential for broad-acre farming applications.

Innovative Technology

The system integrates off-the-shelf hardware with advanced processing software and an intelligent artificial intelligence (AI) programme. By overlaying thousands of images, the AI can be trained to monitor specific aspects of crops, such as:

Crop size
Ripeness
Weed density
Gaps between plants

This versatility positions the system as a valuable tool for diverse agricultural monitoring needs.

Proven Success in Trials

Last autumn, the system was used to eliminate the need for manual cabbage plant counting in a 0.16-hectare trial plot. It provided precise data, identifying:

A population of 5241 cabbages as of October 17, from an initial planting of 5460, indicating a 4% plant loss.
Detailed head size analysis for each cabbage, enabling assessments of which crops met market specifications and which areas required further growth to reach the required standards.

Ground-truthing confirmed only a minimal margin of error in the sizing data, demonstrating the system's reliability. This precision highlights its potential for improving harvest scheduling and yield forecasting, offering significant time and labour savings.

Broadening Applications

Building on these successful trials, the drone system is now being employed in:

Sugar Beet Herbicide Trials: Counting weeds and plants to evaluate treatment efficacy.
Commercial Farm Applications: Testing its adaptability across various agronomic scenarios to refine its functionality for widespread use.

Future Prospects

With its demonstrated accuracy and efficiency, the drone system is set to become a key asset for commercial farming. Agrii’s rapidly growing team of trained drone operators is central to this rollout, ensuring growers can access this technology to enhance on-farm decision-making.