UAVs and Precision Agriculture #10

Crop Scouting

It has been a while since I have had time to sit down and write a blog entry but as we close Memorial Day with bad weather some time has presented itself to write some thoughts on the use of UAS as crop scouting tools.

The truth is that interest in the application caught me off guard. I have been focused on mapping for the past few years and did not really see much benefit in small scale mapping using rotary wing systems. Well was I wrong.  The first I was asked if the rotary wing systems I use would be useful as a crop scout was about twelve months ago and I had to think twice about it.

Image of a test plot captured from rotary wing UAV/Drone

One you do give it some though it is a totally natural fit. The rotary wing is a instant gratification solution, Real time video down link and gps tagged imagery make using rotary wing systems very effective at getting the "big picture" while at the same time being able to drop down to a few feet above the canopy you can get some very detailed imagery of problem areas. All in all this additional data give the crop scout more information to make better recommendations and prescriptions.

Octane UAV/Drone over a field in Iowa

The above image is of us flying a Octane in very high winds in Iowa last month. As you can see nothing on the fields yet just dirt but you even when there is nothing in the field you can get an idea of the field conditions very quickly and detect any areas that may be a problem for planting. The image below shows wet patches and some standing water information that a farmer can use to plan his planting activities.

 

UAVs and Precision Agriculture #9

Winter Flying

Well a quick post to share some imagery of a winter flying session with the new airframe. 



Above is 120 acre open field taken during a 25 minute flight. Conditions at the time where not good with winds gusting at about 15 miles per hour from the south. To complicate the mission we had to deal with large numbers of geese flying at approximately the same altitude resulting in one instance where we had to take manual control (1 missing image).

The above image is a rough composite of 98 images without any corrections for terrain geometry or lens distortions. Here is an example of a digital elevation model created from the imagery.   Click on the PDF then to zoom out of the image to see the entire field.


And finally a quick image of the frozen operators and farmers watching the demo from the Octane

UAVs and Precision Agriculture #8

Hyper-spectral / Multispectral Cameras

UAVs can be used to carry not only cameras that capture imagery in the visual spectrum but cameras tuned to different wave lengths from Thermal (infrared) to ultraviolet systems. In this posting I will look as NIR or Near Infrared imagery and its application for precision agriculture. I am not a an expert in multispectral imagery and if there are any mistakes in my explanation please feel free to point them out.


Near Infrared

NIR is a part of the electromagnetic spectrum on the "far side" of red associated with heat. The near infrared band falls approximately from 800nm - 2500nm (click here for a detailed explanation). Being able to "see" in this part of spectrum is useful in agriculture due to the  fact that plants are tuned to absorb energy in this part of the spectrum, in simple term the more energy being absorbed the more vegetation density you have i.e. plant material.


Sensors
   
Currently there are very few sensors small enough to be flown on a small unmanned aerial system. Due to the relatively low demand for these types of units they tend to be very expensive ranging in price from $5,000-$35,000

Below are three examples of cameras that are being promoted for UAV / Drone use in agriculture and environmental monitoring.

The Tetracam a small light weight unit capable of being carried by a small fixed wing or rotary wing system.

The Headwall Photonics Micro-Hyperspec a 1.8LB unit which has seen recent use on the Sight-MX UAV system. 

Rikola Ltd 300 gram Hyperspectral camera.

UAVs and Precision Agriculture #7

Some Media Links

Ag Professional Magazine did an article on the use of drones (UAVs) precision in agriculture for which I had an interview and got a shot of the Octane in. Click here to read the article

Octane on a sunny day

NPR's did a short segment on the increase of UAV usage in the civilian sector. Click here to listen to the piece.


Corn and Soybean Digest did a article on crop scouting that appeared in Nov 2012 issue. The online article can be found here


The On-Farm Network based in Iowa did an article on the use of UAVS / Drones for crop scouting in their January 2013 members news letter. The article can be found here 

 WHO Radio Des Moines did an interview on the use of UAV / Drones in agriculture at the OFN Conference. Click here to listen


22/02/13

An article by Agriculture.com writer  Laurie Bedord on the potential use of drones / UAVs in agriculture. Click here for the article

13/03/13

NPR Iowa did an hour long show on the the future of UAV / drones in agriculture. Click here to listen. 

28/03.13

Well there is a bit of a storm in a tea cup this week with drones in agriculture getting a lot of press. The Daily Beast interviewed me and got most of the story correct which you can read here

UAVs and Precision Agriculture #6

200 Acres of Corn

In the last few weeks I had the opportunity to demonstrate the potential of sUAS systems to some interested parties in Iowa. The demonstration consisted of both fixed wing and rotary wing flights over a 200 acres test field of corn.

Flight log plot showing take off and landing points
www.voltaerialrobotics.com

The day we flew was perfect for flying with no wind whatsoever. Setup took place on a dirt road about a quarter of a mile from the field as this was the best location for landing the Cropcam after flying. The sUAS was partially assembled the night before to save time in the field. All that needed to be done was to assemble the wing sections, elevator attached batteries and configured the flight plan about 30 minutes of work on the ground.

Flight plan as seen on GCS
www.voltaerialrobotics.com 

Launch went smoothly and the plane gained altitude and proceeded to execute the flight plan. Telemetry was lost on a number of occasions however this was expected and less of an issue now with the upgraded 900mhz  radio modem system. Improved range is now only matter of changing out the radio modems on the plane and the GCS. Another benefit of the new radio  modem is that they draw power directly from the USB connection an additional power inverter is no longer required.

900mhz radio modem and high gain wip antenna
www.voltaerialrobotics.com 

The flight went well with 8 "legs" to complete the 200 acres in approximately 20 minutes.

Due to the power lines at the road edge the landing was performed manually rather than on autopilot. The highlight for me was the rush flying the plane under the power lines expecting the tail to snag at any moment. The landing as per usual was long and flat with final touch down in a soya bean field instead of attempting to put it down on the gravel road.
 
Image Processing

Image processing remains the challenge of operating a system of this type. In the case of this particular flight forty images were taken. The total individually was only about one hundred and fifty megabytes but after a quick stitching a single 1.9 gigabyte file is the result which becomes difficult to work with.   

UAVs and Precision Agriculture #5

Developments

Well it has been a while since I devoted any time to this blog. Since I last wrote we have moved the family back to the Midwest, new house, new school for the children, new and old friends and  some new opportunities.

On the UAV front the situation with the FAA is still in stagnation. Congress in its refunding bill for the FAA has made some legal requirements of the FAA to speed up the introduction of unmanned systems into the NAS. The FAA is currently legally required to have a "road map" for the introduction of unmanned systems in place by 2015. They are also currently being required to setup six test areas where systems can be flown without COA or airworthiness certificates by the end of this year (2012). The FAA as per usual appears to be dragging the process out.

Good Press

I was lucky enough to get some press earlier in the year.Click here to read..

VSTOL Systems

 Since I last wrote in this blog I have acquired a new quad-copter system the Octane. I have been  flying this extensively and making modifications to the airframe and on board systems. This technology appears well suited to Crop Scouting using still images and HD video.

Octane Agricultural UAV up close
www.voltaerialrobotics.com

The Octane system is very easy to operate in comparison to fixed wing sUAS as most of the flight can be automated. The only draw back to the system is duration and that fact that it is technically unforgiving. Any failure results in it falling out of the sky like a brick. After some tuning of the unit is now flying with live video and a still camera and can be reliably used for small scale agricultural imaging.

I recently had the opportunity to demonstrate the crop scouting capabilities of the Octane in Iowa and below are some of the images acquired during the visit.

Looking back at the take off sight.
www.voltaerialrobotics.com 

 The unit was flown on autopilot out to an area in the corn where the researchers were interested in gathering data on a specific hybrid.

Damage in the corn
www.voltaerialrobotics.com 

Live was send back to the ground station so that still images could be taken of the area of interest.

Watching the video and GCS
www.voltaerialrobotics.com 

UAVs and Precision Agriculture #4

Flying a small UAV

Flying a small UAV is really boring! After hours of flight planning and a pre-flight check list as long as your arm this is exactly what you want. The objective is for the flight to be as mundane as possible. Takeoff and landing are the two periods of intensity but if the system is functioning correctly and the weather is good all you will need to do is monitor the ground control station and keep an eye on the aircraft.

To operate a small UAV safely requires more than one person. You need at a minimum a pilot and a spotter at best a third person to monitor the ground station and an additional spotter at the far extent of the flight
area. In my opinion there is no reason to operate a UAV outside line of sight (and you may be legally negligent if you do) if you cannot see the plane visually you are not in full control of the aircraft and that is a very bad thing.

Wave UAV

Flights can take place in windy conditions however is aerial photography is the objective the less wind the better. The more wind the more likely you are to have distorted imagery as the aircraft rolls and pitches. A cross wind also creates a situation were the aircraft "crabs" effectively rotating imagery. The greater the grab the greater the degree of rotation. These issues can be reduced by using a stabilized camera mount and flying into the wind.

As I mentioned in a previous posting there are two main ways a UAV like the CropCam can be controlled directly. The first is in PIC mode (pilot in command) and the second is CIC mode or computer (autopilot) in control. In the case of the CropCam changing between these modes is facilitated via the radio control transmitter. With a flick of a switch you can change between the two modes. When in PIC mode you are directly in control of the aircraft. This is a critical feature as you inevitably will have to override the autopilot on some takeoffs and landings. Some autopilot systems have a third mode of flight where the operator directs the aircraft via a joystick and the autopilot interprets the commands and directs the aircraft.

There are three popular ways to launch small UAVs: Runway, hand launch, and catapult launch. Each method has its drawbacks and advantages. A UAV that requires a runway restricts where you can operate, they however

are usually larger heavier systems with more payload capacity and greater endurance. Hand launched systems have to be smaller and lighter and thus have shorter endurance and payload capacity. The benefit of hand launched systems is that they can be operated from almost any area with enough clearance to land in. Catapult or bungee launches allow for the use of heavier, larger systems where no runway exists.

There are many ways for aircraft to land. Some of the more novel ways include parachute landing but for the majority of small airframes a skid landing on grass (video below) or even a suitable crop works well (avoid corn stalks or sugar cane).

CropCam parachute landing