UAV

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have found use in agriculture for decades, with unmanned helicopters spraying pesticides on rice fields in Japan back in the 1980s. Now, to have drones reach their full potential in farming, research is increasingly pushing toward beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations. Agriculture is a...

Noxious weeds, characterized by their aggressive behavior, continue to be an increasing problem throughout the United States. Early detection is critical in order to contain and/or eradicate an infestation. Ground-based surveys for weeds require time and money to cover a relatively small area. The data collected from ground-based surveys may...

A spraying expert says potential spray drift is a significant concern and payloads will likely be too small to be productive Drone sprayers have been used in Pacific Rim agriculture for more than two decades, and they gained California certification four years ago. But do they have potential beyond the...

A purposeful large scale three-engined electric crop spraying RPAS that must make more sense than smaller multirotors over huge fields from Pyka. The company’s founding team, Michael Norcia, Chuma Ogunwole, Kyle Moore and Nathan White, come from a variety of well-known companies that work in adjacent spaces: Cora, Kittyhawk, Joby Aviation,...

ALEXANDRIA, VA – NOVEMBER 4, 2019 – As part of the FAA's National Drone Safety Awareness Week, the National Agricultural Aviation Association (NAAA) is reminding all Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) operators to be aware of low-altitude agricultural aircraft operations. "Agricultural aviators fly as low as 10 feet off the ground,...

My colleague here at Meister Media, Matthew Grassi, cut his teeth on the technology side of row crop agriculture before shifting his focus earlier this year to specialty crops and the emerging cannabis and hemp markets. But he’s a certified drone pilot and still keeps a close eye on technology...

The PMRA does not allow crop protection products to be applied by aerial drones; experts say more research is needed When the Canadian Aerial Applicators Association got wind that Don Campbell had been approved by Transport Canada to emit fluid from a drone, the group decided he needed to be...

Lask week Rantizo, an agtech drone spraying startup, added 5 more states to its list of eligible operations. With the latest approvals, the Rantizo footprint has grown beyond the Midwest, spanning into eastern and southern states as well. The Iowa City agtech startup is now licensed and approved to provide...

Drones designed to spray broad- acre agricultural crops usually use fine droplets with a low water-to-chemical ratio to try and make up for their limited fluid carrying capacity. This greatly limits their use, because extremely low water volumes are off-label and fine droplets are prone to drift, where they might...