Precision Agriculture as a Commercial Application for Solar-Powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
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Abstract
The economic potential of UAVs serving as long-duration platforms equipped with high resolution real-time imaging systems is being demonstrated. In September 2002, the UAV Pathfinder-Plus will be used to collect high-spatial resolution, multispectral imagery of the Kauai Coffee Plantation, the largest coffee plantation in the USA. Imagery from two digital camera systems will be analyzed for the mapping of coffee field ripeness, and for the identification of drip irrigation problems and weed proliferation. A payload test was conducted aboard a conventional piloted aircraft during the harvest season in 2001. Use of off- the-shelf wireless technology was implemented to remotely control camera operation and downlink imagery in near-real time. Image analysis and the acquisition of ground-based data revealed a positive relationship between brightness of the coffee tree canopy and the harvested yield of ripe coffee cherries.