Don’t call unmanned aerial vehicles “drones” when you’re talking to Rory Paul.

”When we hear ‘drone,’ the popular media has us seeing military predator systems with Tomahawk missiles slung underneath,” said Paul, CEO of Volt Aerial Robotics. “What we’re talking about are farming implements that fly, that are doing work on your farm.”

Paul prefers to call them unmanned aerial vehicles or UAVs. He shared how radio-controlled UAVs can be used for crop scouting and other agricultural applications at the Iowa Soybean Association On-Farm Network Conference in Ames. Paul said there are different types and sizes of unmanned aircraft —military systems and agricultural equivalents.

”Next time you hear ‘drone,’ you can ask what type, what size, what it does,” Paul said. “I believe they have huge potential to benefit agriculture.”

Paul doubts that large predator-sized UAVs will ever fly over fields. 

”It’s the small UAVs that we should be interested in because they can do a lot of work for agriculture,” he said. Whether farmers can operate UAVs on their farms for agricultural purposes is a gray area, Paul said. They can fly a radio-controlled plane with an autopilot in it for recreation up to 400 feet. 

UAVs can be used for mapping land. It provides high resolution with down to sub-inch accuracy. 

Crop scouting is another use. A farmer can stand on the edge of the field with a ground station and see what a UAV camera sees over a field. Farmers can use UAVs to take population counts from multiple spots in the field in a fraction of the time it takes to do on foot.

Spraying, especially spot spraying, is another application. Paul also sees a time when pollination and sampling could be done with UAVs. 

”The sky is the limit,” he said.

By Jean Caspers-Simmet
simmet@agrinews.com


Aerial imagery overlay to Ordinance Survey Mastermap

Here is an example of the aerial imagery collected  overlayed accurately to Ordinance Survey Mastermap.

The Aerial image has been used on a transparency setting so you can see  the house numbers and Mastermap layer below.

An example of the NDVI and contour capability from unmanned aerial surveying.

At KaarbonTech we are always looking to make the working environment greener and more user friendly. When we set out on a field trip we carry quite a lot of technical equipment. It is important that the user in the field feels comfortable and in-control of all the equipment. This is imperative when flying the UAV where concentration is essential.

In this photograph you can see Mark hard at work at his outdoor desk. As the user does not have to hold the laptop, the user can easily keep a watch on the UAV in the air and the technical information being transmitted to the laptop.

A simple idea but an absolute winner!

Two members of staff have become BNUS-S qualified this week. Congratulations to Leigh Harris and Mark Entwistle on gaining this qualification.

The BNUC-S™ (Basic National UAS Certificate for Small Unmanned Aircraft) introduced in April 2010 is aimed at the operation of aircraft below 20Kg.  Even relatively small aircraft in this category have sophisticated flight control systems and functions which the Pilot must master before they are able to fly the aircraft safely.  This is now the standard qualification accepted by the UK CAA for Small Unmanned Aircraft (SUA) and by the Insurance industry.

The BNUC-S™ is also applicable internationally in support of companies and National Authorities committed to the safe operation of unmanned aircraft. It provides a common basis for the acceptance of pilot competence in relation to the operation of UAS.

The BNUC-S™ qualification for systems <20Kg consists of two parts:-

PART 1 – Ground School Examination (Level 1). A 2-day course which informs attendees of the requirements necessary to become an Operator and/or Pilot. The course also covers the syllabus required for the Part 1 Examination. The course is delivered by EuroUSC™ or by an Approved Organisation. The aim of the BNUC-S™ Ground School Course is to assist potential UAS pilots and those staff involved in UAS operations, to reach the required level of knowledge and understanding to operate a light UAS in the environments that they are most likely to encounter. In the first instance most operations will be in the 500m/400′ “bubble” using Visual Line of Sight (VLOS) principles.

PART 2 – Flight Test Examination (Level 1). The examination assesses the skills of the Pilot against the Operations Manual.

As BNUS-S qualified pilots Mark and Leigh are now fully competent and insured to fly aerial surveying missions and are looking forward to the diversity of the jobs that this exciting industry provides.

Thank you to everyone at EuroUSC for their support and advice.

Below is a sample of the results from our UAV. A grassy mound was surveyed from above at approximately 330ft. This was then turned in to a 3D Digital Elevation Model (DEM) using our sophisticated photogrammetry software.

After a successful first phase implementation of the new KarbonTech data capture device we have agreed a further investment of £100,000 for the next 2 stages.

KaarbonTech will provide one of the most advanced data capture systems on the market. Built with the engineer in mind, our developers “Interactive” have pulled out all the stops to ensure this is a smooth reliable system.

Sharing data seamlessly between contractor and client systems and incorporating some clever safety features for the engineer in the field has made this a system to be proud of.

Managing Director Mark Entwistle explained “We will continue to find innovative ways to drive efficient maintenance for our clients. This is just one way of achieving this”

Asset condition and location capturing

Unmanned spy drones could patrol Britain’s shores looking for illegal immigrants and smugglers after a series of high-level meetings in Brussels, The Mail on Sunday has learned.

The European Commission aims to spend £260 million on its ‘Eurosur’ project, which includes a plan for surveillance drones to patrol the Mediterranean coast.

At the same time, several schemes are under way in Britain. If the high-tech measures against terrorists, illegal immigrants and smugglers in the Mediterranean are successful, there would be pressure on the UK to follow suit.

Surveillance planes with military-grade cameras would be more effective at monitoring the coastline than satellites or standard planes.

British defence firms are testing sophisticated ‘sense and avoid’  systems on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over the Irish Sea and some experts believe European civilian airspace could soon see drones flying alongside other aircraft.

Just for fun…..

Continuing his run of fascinating art that plays with thwarting the technological tools of the surveillance state, Adam Harvey has released a new collection of “counter surveillance garments and accessories.” Called Stealth Wear, the line is a collaboration with fashion designer Johanna Bloomfield.

Launched in London yesterday, a city blanketed by police cameras, the garments nominally are “anti-drone,” in that they reduce one’s thermal profile, which can be seen in the infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The infrared cameras mounted on drones, therefore, can see the heat of bodies, even in the dark.

The images in the middle are what the camera normally produces; the images on the right are false colour, so you can see the temperature gradient. The garments certainly do change your heat signature, though perhaps not enough to evade detection totally!

When asked about their recent acquisition of Gatewing the UAV manufacture Anders Rhodin, business area director for Trimble’s survey division said

“You’re filling the gap between traditional topo surveying and the high-altitude photogrammetry and putting something in between,” Rhodin said. “Compared to high altitude, it’s fairly low cost. You can do it often and quickly. It’s not affected by the weather; you fly under the cloud cover for instance. [UAVs are useful] where you want to be able to quickly survey bigger portions of land – there are rapid response possibilities where there are time-sensitive deliverables, disaster situations, after tornados. You might use UAVs for construction monitoring, where you might want to do it on a daily basis.”

He also said volume calculation, for mining applications, has been popular already. “You can get very precise volume estimations of stockpiles, which is almost impossible with traditional measurements,” Rhodin said. “Laser scanning is very good for that as well, but you often need to get on top to get an accurate reading. You’re also with a UAV out of the way of the normal working of the site – you don’t get in the way.”

Of course, applications are still being developed nearly every day. “I think your imagination is the limit here,”

KaarbonTech are determined to push forward many of these new applications for UAV over the coming years.