High-efficiency data collection
Besides smart spraying, another function that farmers need is data collection from their fields. “UAVs are excellent tools for helping to predict the production volume of agricultural produce.” Kao says that in the past, to measure data such as soil moisture content, air temperature, plant diseases, and insect pests, it was necessary to place sensors all over the fields, resulting in steep maintenance costs.
Given concerns that sensors could be damaged by rats or water or run out of power, the only way to be sure of getting accurate data was to put them everywhere, and managing them became a headache. High-tech UAVs don’t suffer any of these problems, and a full set of precise and complex data can be collected with one pass of a sensor-equipped drone, while farmers sit indoors in air-conditioned comfort. That’s why when officials from the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture sought out Aeroprobing, they were interested less in the actual aircraft than in the agricultural data that the company collected.
UAVs are not only valuable in disaster emergencies and security applications, but can also be used for inspecting roads and bridges, in precision crop care for smart agriculture, and in urban management. They can even detect radiation and can be sent on missions into dangerous places, with virtually limitless potential applications. One example is a drone with an indoor navigation system that Aeroprobing is developing to assist in disease control. It can be used to disinfect areas inside healthcare institutions, relieving human personnel of a dangerous task.
Meanwhile, Geosat is working with a joint venture partner in Malaysia to implement smart agriculture applications. Lo Cheng-fang says, “In my father’s generation, agricultural technical missions went abroad to help partner countries solve problems with food supply.” Today Taiwan is simply taking a different approach, using the Internet of Things and unmanned vehicle technology to upgrade the quality of agricultural technical services. As drone makers from Taiwan have taken their products and services abroad, the world has come to see our country as a shining example of how UAV technology can be used.
The UAV sector has great potential for future development, and aerospace is a key industry that showcases Taiwan’s technological prowess.
Going from amateur to UAV pioneer, in just five years Lance Kao has won the maximum investment from the National Development Fund for his startup Aeroprobing.
The AG1-O, developed by Aeroprobing, sprays nutrients onto tea bushes at Fu Tea in Yilan County, greatly upgrading the quality of the tealeaves and lowering labor costs compared with traditional cultivation. (courtesy of Aeroprobing)
Indonesian farmers who tried out Aeroprobing’s AG1-O spray drone for themselves had nothing but praise for the machine’s capabilities and performance. (courtesy of Aeroprobing)