We’ve talked about what it means to utilize a drone solution that features an integrated multi-spectral mapping solution in agriculture, and the differences this technology can make for growers is substantial. While professionals have seen how the technology can make an impact on their bottom line, the research that is being done at educational institutions/academies around the world is what’s really driving innovation in the space. It’s the reason Walkera, Agrowing, and Icaros have joined forces to offer these institutions a special, highly discounted price for the AgroVoyager agricultural solution.

The AgroVoyager is Walkera’s drone solution for agriculture, distributed by Ambar Group. The bundle, based around Walkera’s Voyager 4 quadcopter, will be available to educational institutions/academies for greatly reduced price, through the end of the year. It comes with a built-in Agrowing narrow band multispectral sensor, a perpetual license of Icaros’ OneButton software. It’s designed to help create a multispectral imagery bank of pests and vegetation irregularities, but the potential new applications that students and researchers will be able to develop for it are endless.

It’s not just the fact that these products are available in a single package that makes it distinct though. Just as essential to realize is what kind of powerful tools this bundle contains, and that these kinds of packages are not created equally.

“I don't know of any other ‘all inclusive’ bundles that offer high resolution (like our 8MP per channel) narrow bands sensor,” Ira Dvir, CEO of Agrowing, told Commercial UAV news. “Comparable packages are either of far higher cost, or far lower quality. Multispectral sensors of 1.2MP per channel cost almost the same price as the complete Agrovoyager bundle. Agrowing's sensor has ‘built-in’ continuous digital alignments, based on its patent pending technology, based on a common green channel captured by both lenses. From 3m distance you can get a resolution of 0.5mm per pixel (400 pixels per square centimeter). Such resolution allows the detection of aphids!”

That kind of resolution is what matters in agriculture, because it’s the kind of detail that can result in changes to a process that impact an entire operation. It’s what enables users to focus on the actual data they want and need from these systems, because real pixels are needed to detect different types of pests and diseases. Agrowing’s sensor technology represents a unique and advanced multispectral solution that can be used for multispectral close inspection. Users can easily identify blight by capturing, say, potato leaves at 400 pixel per square cm. Blight simply cannot be spotted from 100m altitude using 1MP sensor.

Additionally, this package allows users to easily add formulas, customize palettes, and set surveys ranges, all of which open up additional possibilities for fully automated precision agriculture. All of that said though, what kind of familiarity does someone need to have with drone technology to get up and running with this bundle?

“The bundle was packed to make things simple,” Dvir continued. “The mission planning is integrated with the drones RC software. Icaros’ photogrammetric OneButton software states exactly what it is meant for: very simple operation and high-end imagery and analysis. The fact that the SW is integrated with the sensor, means that one skips confusing settings and can focus on the agricultural surveys, rather than on the operational aspects.”

The logistics associated with getting a drone solution operational can be the biggest challenge for users, especially in a university setting. Walkera’s powerful commercial UAV platform combined with Agrowing’s automatic systematics workflow will allow students and researchers to focus on imagery analysis, rather than with integration, so that relevant applications can be created and developed.

Sales will start at Walkera’s & Ambar Group’s booth 601 at Commercial UAV Expo Americas. You can also learn more about the offering at www.agrowing.com and www.icaros.us, or send an email to [email protected].