Now it's time for exclusive aerial drones to invigilate over Oregon nurseries

At the first instance it may look like some mechanical giant spider, but in reality this is a drone device somewhere on the lines of Guardian Angel. Contrived by a group of collaborative agricultural researchers, and supported by the grant of J. Frank Schmidt & Son Nursery, basically the contraption is a small (3 ft span) drone helicopter, that can hover across the plantations, orchards and agricultural fields to monitor them.

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Integrated with state-of-the-art GPS technology, and with an advanced digital camera stuck to its lower part (with swiveling mechanism to keep the camera view intact), the machine can literally keep 'watch' over wide swathes of land. Equipped with a variety of sensors, there are a myriad of functions this bantam device could accomplish like - detecting plant disease, looking for irrigation or fertilizer problems, measuring plant height and diameter and even predicting crop yield. On the more practical side of affairs, it can watch out for trespassing and points where the perimeter fence needs to be fixed.

The drone is powered by a lithium ion polymer battery, can stay in flight from 9 to 40 minutes and can carry five pounds of camera gear. The air route is preprogrammed, and corresponding to that it can maintain a constant altitude of 25 meters. The basic unit comes with a cost of $7,000 to $10,000, whereas additional equipment, ranging from simple digital cameras to advanced infrared sensors that can detect crop nutrient deficiencies, can add hundreds or thousands to the price tag.

Source: OregonLive