According to a blog post by Petiole Pro, there are at least five distinct problems with agricultural drones. Here is a brief overview of these issues:
Agricultural drones require specialized knowledge and skills: agricultural drones are not toys; they require specialized knowledge and skills to operate. Only professional pilots with valid certificates are allowed to conduct farm monitoring. This means that operators must know a lot about agricultural drones, such as how to plan flight paths, test flight equipment, conduct aerial surveys and collect digital images and data. In addition, specialists must understand how to maintain and repair drones, create maps (e.g., NDVI or REID) from flight data, and interpret data.
Agricultural drones have limited flight time: typically, agricultural drones fly between 10 and 25 minutes, which is insufficient for large areas of farmland.
Most agricultural drones have limited functionality: cheap quadcopters have limited functionality, while good agricultural drones are expensive. For example, a camera drone with a powerful RGB camera costs at least £300. Such drones are equipped with quality cameras or allow for camera mounting.
Vulnerable to adverse weather conditions: agricultural drones are not suitable for flying in rainy, high humidity conditions. Fog or snowfall is also detrimental to operating a drone.
Vulnerable to wildlife: wildlife may pose a threat to agricultural drones.
Note that these issues do not mean that agricultural drones are not advantageous. In fact, they are one of the most innovative methods of modern agricultural monitoring. However, it is important to understand these issues when using agricultural drones.
Post time: Sep-22-2023