Farmers have Rebekka Armstrong Archivesanother tool to help them in the field.
With smartphones in hand, tech-savvy farmers are able to fly heavy duty drones out to do everything from crop dusting to surveying the health of the plants.
SEE ALSO: Passenger drones will start flying for real in summer 2017And with smarter software, drones can do more autonomously, making the process more efficient and at far lower cost than hiring a specialised pilot to man an aircraft over the fields.
Only 2 percent of farmers in China use drones.
While makers have offered agriculture drones to the market for two decades now, adoption is tiny, according to Xaircraft, a Chinese maker that's starting to expand into the U.S.
It estimates only 2 percent of farmers in China use drones, in part because of lower awareness, and because the technology wasn't that user-friendly before.
But now with autonomous UAVs and smartphone apps, it's all set to change, a spokesperson said. To operate one of their drones, farmers just need to draw out the shape of the land on their phones, and the drone will do the rest -- including returning to its base station.
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable The Guangzhou-headquartered firm has so far trained over 1,000 drone operators in its homeland, and is hoping to lower the learning curve for newbies via free online training courses.
For farmers that already know how to fly a drone, they can move up the technology ladder and analyse data collected about their plantations.
Poladrone is a Malaysian startup that's writing software to analyse palm oil plantations. Looking at imagery taken from above, it can count the number of oil palms, determine crop health, and alert farmers if it detects blocked pathways.
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable Founder, Jinxi Cheong, explained that image recognition software can figure out the health of a plant based on factors such as the colour of its leaves.
Up to 10 percent of the oil palm's fruit go to waste because it's a laborious process to judge the health of the plants, and fraught with human error.
Poladrone doesn't make its own drones; it relies on off-the-shelf DJI Phantoms, running flight-control app Litchi to automate the flight paths.
Oil palm plantations in Muar, Johor. Credit: Epa/Shutterstock "What we're focused on is something that's very simple and easy for [plantation owners] to deploy," Cheong said. "Something that anyone can use, without much training."
"It's still a very traditional industry, and we need to go one step at a time," he adds. "It's not like an industry that's going to [jump at] adopting new technology -- it's going to be a 5-10 year process."
Previous：Back to Work
Next：The Deal of the Art
Love, Actually
Twitter is not a fan of Jimmy Fallon's Chris Rock impression
Evan Rachel Wood wants girls to know they don't have to wear dresses
Chrissy Teigen chilling at the Golden Globes is pure gold
Soundtrack to a Drug War
4 things we learned about Hulu's upcoming 'Handmaid’s Tale'
College team surprisingly good at 'swimming' through snow in Speedos
This restaurant will pay you to eat soup if temperatures fall below zero
The Vital Possibility of Abdul El-Sayed
This beer is perfectly optimized for glorious shower drinking
Parkland: Urgency and Insurgency
Golden Globes 2017: The best and worst looks from the red carpet
Here are the best and worst moments of the 2017 Golden Globes
Chinese student beats up female classmate for challenging him in class
Busy Doing Nothing
Stop using the word 'trolling' when you mean harassment and abuse
Hugh Laurie made the absolute best Trump joke at the Golden Globes
Steve Carell and Kristen Wiig's Golden Globes speech was hilariously emotional
Faster, Higher, Stronger, More Harmonious
Apple to meet Indian officials to discuss iPhone manufacturing plans
Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip launches on Valentine's Day for less than Motorola Razr'Table Manners' lets you take a disembodied hand on a date: ReviewMWC is canceled, but a bunch of new phones are still coming outNokia, Facebook, Sprint, and AT&T also pull out of MWC 2020Amazon accused Trump of bias, and now Microsoft's $10 billion JEDI cloud contract is on holdLive BBC interview gets derailed by bizarrely awkward manAre you a 'hacker type'? Then 'Mr. Robot' wants you.Cakes that look like succulents are the best way to eat your greensHQ Trivia is shutting downTwitter's Jack Dorsey tweets a bummer of a WikiHow on Valentine's DayAre you a 'hacker type'? Then 'Mr. Robot' wants you.Motorola Razr first impression: About that crease...Rogue deer tackles innocent man in a parking lotNokia, Facebook, Sprint, and AT&T also pull out of MWC 2020'Table Manners' lets you take a disembodied hand on a date: ReviewFacebook takes down accounts based in Iran and RussiaHow ‘No Time to Die’ could evolve the concept of the 'Bond girl'15 inspirational 'Harry Potter' quotes to live byTFW your allApple, just pay workers for the time you spend searching their bags At least 1,000 more buses ask to park for Women's March than Trump's inauguration Cool kid pranks store by putting his face on every device Kim Kardashian shared beauty tips in her first post The Killers are no longer feuding with Panda Express on Twitter Watch Rupert Grint, Ed Westwick in new trailer for Crackle's 'Snatch' Perfect response to anyone who thinks childcare work is just 'wiping noses' goes viral Actual footage shows what it was like to land on Saturn's moon Titan Michaels recalls thousands of those relaxing rock salt lamps Lady Liberty to be portrayed as a woman of color on U.S. currency 'Fargo' returns in April with iPhones and Ewan McGregor Student turns her Oxford rejection letter into a magnificent work of art New species of gibbon named after Star Wars character, and Twitter can't cope This boot has been recalled after Redditors found swastika prints on the sole This driverless car will hit South Korea roads this year What’s the best business structure for a first Watch 'How to Get Away With Murder' alum Katie Findlay in new clip for go90 show Pandora to lay off 7 percent of its US workforce Brilliant, bold, bisexual, boss: the author of 'Goodnight Moon' was before her time Paul Ryan didn't give us the dab we wanted, he gave us the dab we deserved MashTalk: Looking back at the biggest trends of CES 2017
2.0991s , 10129.9296875 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【Rebekka Armstrong Archives】,Evergreen Information Network