Agricultural UAS Operations An Introduction to Unmanned Precision Ag - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Agricultural UAS Operations An Introduction to Unmanned Precision Ag Research being conducted at MGSC Chad Dennis UAS Program Liaison for the Georgia Center of Innovation Aerospace Director of UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) Middle Georgia
Agricultural UAS Operations
An Introduction to Unmanned Precision Ag Research being conducted at MGSC
Chad Dennis
UAS Program Liaison for the Georgia Center of Innovation – Aerospace Director of UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) Middle Georgia State College
What is a UAS?
Case Study 1 Cordele Peanut Plant
BACKGROUND:
A peanut plant in Cordele, Georgia was on fire and officials were having problems pinpointing the source of the fire due to the fact that the roof
collapsed and the firemen on the ground could not see inside.
ENTER THE DRONE:
A volunteer firefighter used the camera on his UAV to locate the source of the fire inside the silo, enabling a police helicopter to drop water bags precisely on the source
OUTCOME:
The drone operation saved millions of dollars worth of peanuts stored in adjacent silos by allowing firefighters to quickly access the location of the fire.
Case Study 2 Soil & Conservation
BACKGROUND:
Agencies involved in conservation efforts like surveying and mapping ecologically sensitive areas such as swamps and wetlands, expend a lot
tech solutions can prove too costly.
ENTER THE DRONE:
“Conservation drones” costing less than $4,000 can take GIS synchronized high-resolution photographs with <2cm pixel resolution.
OUTCOME:
Significant time and money is saved in mapping and surveying ecologically sensitive areas.
NOTE – this is part of a TED Global 2013 initiative.
Project Team
Georgia Center of Innovation (COI)
Middle Georgia State College (MGSC) University of Georgia-Tifton Campus Guided Systems Technologies (GST) Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition Georgia Peanut Commission Georgia Cotton Commission
Objectives:
To determine if near-infrared images captured by a UAV have the potential to be used by crop consultants and farmers to analyze crops more efficiently
Image: 08/02/2013 Peanuts 675’ Sunbelt (Moultrie)
UAV Crop Imaging
Scope:
Flights conducted over UGA peanut & cotton research crops during the 2013 growing seasons. Conducted 34 total flights over 10 total flight days spanning from 06/18/2013 to 09/20/2013.
General Findings:
investigated once a year. Several more trials needed to predict yield from NDVI.
the exsposure forcing some delays.
management will also need to be addressed
where plants were stressed Guided Systems Technologies (GST) SiCX-10 CoA 2013-ESA-36
UAV Crop Imaging
Proposed Project 2015
Snapshot:
Ag Eagle RAPID with a Near Infrared (NIR) Camera to monitor multiple fields of scale in Evans & Bulloch County during the upcoming growing session to calculate the return on investments
Project Team:
Agriview Systems Middle Georgia State College UGA County Extension Service
UGA Small Business Development Center
UGA Tifton Campus COI – Agribusiness COI – Aerospace
Georgia Dept of Economic Development
Agriview Systems Ag Eagle RAPID Summer of 2015 (Proposed)
Current state regulations
Who uses Unmanned Aerial Systems?
Hobbyist Businesses Public Agencies
Key Issues with Regulations
empowered to ensure the safety of the NAS
concerned about privacy issues
where the FAA leaves off and the state regulations begin
Current state regulations
General information about UAS
information: – COI-A – Georgia UAS Working Group – AUVSI – FSDO
Georgia UAS Working Group
The Georgia Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Working Group is a state-wide committee dedicated to growing existing Georgia UAS companies and attracting more UAS industry employers to the
for UAS companies to seek educational, manufacturing and research partnerships Members of the UAS Working Group include local UAS companies, academic experts, and aerospace/aviation industry organizations in addition to state and federal government agencies. For more information, please contact Chad Dennis at chad.dennis@mga.edu
Thank You!
Selecting the Right UAS
An Introduction to UAS for Public Agencies
Chad Dennis
UAS Program Liaison for the Georgia Center of Innovation – Aerospace Director of UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) Middle Georgia State College