Drones on the Job: A Farmer Drone?

One of the most common questions I get asked by people that have interest in the drone industry is, "What immediate impact will drones make on my life?" This is a great question because we are all aware of the evident large scale impacts such as packages coming from the sky as companies like Amazon get into the drone delivery business. However, there are also many less obvious changes that will have a much larger impact; one of these is Farmer Drones.

While this title "Farmer Drones" is mostly tongue in cheek, it is not far from the truth. There are already companies that sell entire drone agriculture systems for less that $10,000 USD. One of these companies is Agribotix. What do I mean by "system"? Well, just that. It is a drone that is completely autonomous. For example, after quickly drawing field borders for a the flight pattern on a handheld device, the drone would take off, fly the mission then return and land itself. With its long-endurance, the Agribotix drone (the Enduro), can cover 160 acres on a single set of batteries.

Ok, it can "cover" 160 acres", but what does that mean? The Enduro scans the crops using "crop health managing" cameras. This means it can see where crops are under stress from a variety of causes such as heat, lack of water, or insects. In the past farmers just water the whole field or spray the whole field with a variety of pesticides to ward off disaster. Now, they will be able to spot troubled areas before their symptoms show and stop specific infestations and help plants under heat stress immediately. What does this mean? Farmers can be far more efficient, which will safe resources, and you money a the grocery store.

However, now that we understand the capabilities of this drone, what can the farmer do about this? Well, for example, if the Enduro spots crops under stress it can dispatch the exterminator. Meet the Yamaha RMAX. It is an agricultural drone designed to go spray areas of a farmers feed under stress due to pests or dehydration.

Yamaha RMAX

As you see, this is a complete system that would identify problem areas on a very precise level. Then it would dispatch drones to treat the sections of the field in stress before they cause further problems. Using these system give farmers on average 10% higher yield and save them tens of thousands of dollars depending on the size of their farm. The net effect, you pay far less at the grocery store. This is just one way drones will change your life.