DRONES: AERIAL TECH TO THE FIELD
Whether drones are controlled by a remote or accessed via a smartphone app, they possess the capability of reaching the most remote areas with little to no manpower needed and require the least amount of effort, time, and energy. This is one of the biggest reasons why they are being adopted worldwide, especially by these four sectors: Military, Commercial, Personal, and Future Technology. Agriculture is one industry where the importance of big data isn’t emphasized enough. Using hyperspectral imaging technology, farmers can attain incredibly useful information that would help them maximize their operations. Depending on the imaging method, drones can help farmers do the following: assess crop health, spot
fungal infections on trees, locate growth bottlenecks, locate poor irrigation, and gather general information on environmental conditions.
Among the most promising areas is agriculture, where drones offer the potential for addressing several major challenges. With the world’s population projected to reach 9 billion people by 2050, experts expect agricultural consumption to increase by nearly 70 percent over the same time period. In addition, extreme weather events are on the rise, creating additional obstacles to productivity. Agricultural producers must embrace revolutionary strategies for producing food, increasing productivity, and making sustainability a priority. Drones are part of the solution, along with closer collaboration between governments, technology leaders, and industry.
Precision crop monitoring
Weather Analytica provides solutions using aerial and ground-based drones technology for crop monitoring. Vast fields and low efficiency in crop monitoring together create farming’s largest obstacle. Monitoring challenges are exacerbated by increasingly unpredictable weather conditions, which drive risk and field maintenance costs. Previously, satellite imagery offered the most advanced form of monitoring. But there were drawbacks. Images had to be ordered in advance, could be taken only once a day, and were imprecise. Further, services were extremely costly and the images’
quality typically suffered on certain days. Today, time-series animations can show the precise development of a crop and reveal production inefficiencies, enabling better crop management.
Irrigation & Water Management with Drones
Weather Analytica using high-tech drones loaded with thermal cameras to help provide in-depth look, identifying regions of dry and wet soil condition. Using drones to manage irrigation can also allow farmers to check in more frequently which is crucial in times of extreme or unusual weather.