Drones: The Newest Technology for Precision Agriculture

Emad Ahmad1
1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Zakir Hussain College of Engineering
andTechnology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India.
[email protected]
Abstract:
The world receives more than 200 thousand people in a day, and it is expected that the total world population will
reach 9.6 billion by the year 2050. This will result in extra food demand, which can only be met by enhanced crop
yield. Therefore, modernization of the agricultural sector becomes the need of the hour. There are many constraints
that are responsible for the low production of crops, which can be overcome by using drone technology in the
agriculture sector. This paper presents an analysis of drone technologies and their modifications with time in the
agriculture sector in the last decade. The application of drones in the area of crop monitoring, and pesticide spraying
for Precision Agriculture (PA) has been covered. The work done related to drone structure, multiple sensor
development, innovation in spot area spraying has been presented. Drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs),
have been used by the military since WWI for remote surveillance. In the last decade, farmers have begun using
them to monitor their fields as well as aiding precision agriculture programs. There are estimates that 80 to 90% of
the growth in the drone market in the next decade will come from agriculture. The ease of use and ability to
specialize each system means there will be a UAV for every situation. UAVs can monitor fields more often than
satellites, take more detailed pictures, and are not obstructed by clouds. The different types of cameras can monitor
data like photosynthesis rates or find where patches of weeds are in a field. As the technology gets better and the
cost continues to decrease, drones will have wider use in today’s farm fields.

Keywords: Unmanned aerial vehicle, Spraying System, Crop Monitoring.

1. Introduction
The population is increasing rapidly, which is making food security a challenging task. According to Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nation, more than 815 million people are chronically hungry and
64% of the chronically hungry are in Asia. The world needs to increase food production by approximately 50% by
the year 2050 to feed a population of nine billion. On the other hand, the basic resources for agriculture production
such as land and water are becoming scarcer every day. In a study done in 2018, it has been revealed that 9.2% of
people on earth had extreme degrees of food availability problems Any further decreases in the amount of food will
result in a very pathetic condition. There was also a moderate level food insecurity problem (i.e. up to 17.2% of the
total populace), which means that they did not have customary access to nutritious and adequate food. The
combination of moderate and extreme degrees of food availability problem carries the approximate 26.4% of the
total populace The crop production and food supply networks were severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic
The basic requirements in the field of agriculture like labor, seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides were not available
timely to many farmers and has resulted in less production. [1]
 Many Asian countries are at a developing stage, and they are confronting with the issue of a high populace and their
agrarian efficiency is much lower when compared with technologically advanced nations. India is facing a similar
issue. This is due to its low-level agriculture technology, lesser power availability, and unskilled farmers, etc. Almost
73% of the Indian population is dependent on the agriculture sector directly or indirectly. Indian farming is still being
done in a conventional manner. Farmers are using conventional techniques for seed planting, compost, and pesticides
application, etc. The traditional techniques used for pesticides and fertilizer spraying require more time and are less
effective, thus there is a need for technological advancement in this segment. COVID-19 pandemic made the
monitoring of crops, fertilizer, and pesticide spraying very difficult for conventional farmers. The utilization of Drone
in agriculture is a suitable solution to overcome these difficulties. Utilizing proper information collected by drones,
agronomists, rural specialists, and farmers may improve their activities to increase the yields [2].

For smart farming and Precision Agriculture (PA), aerial remote sensing is considered to be one of the most
important technologies. Aerial remote sensing, with the help of drones, utilizes the images of different wavelengths
and measures the vegetation indices to recognize the several conditions of crops. In the past decades, manned aircraft
or satellites were used for capturing desired images that were utilized for precision agriculture. Capturing images by
using manned aircraft is a very costly affair and the problem with satellite images is that image spatial resolution is
not as good as desired in most conditions. Moreover, the availability and quality of images depend upon the weather
conditions. An advancement in Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technologies and reduction weight of payload
devices has shifted the remote sensing of crops through this technology. This technology is less expensive,
timesaving, and captures high-resolution images in a non-destructive way. Drone monitoring systems help the farmers
to observe the aerial views of the harvest. This gives information related to the water system, soil variety, pests, and
fungal infestations [3].

Crops images, collected by the drones, have information in the range of infrared and visual spectral. Different
features from these images can be extracted, which gives information about the health of plants in a manner that
cannot be seen with the naked eye. Another important feature of this technology is its capability to monitor the yield
regularly i.e., each week, or even at each hour. The frequent availability of crop information helps farmers to take
corrective action for better crop management. Applications of drones in precision farming can be studied based on the
payload devices. Payload is actually the weight a drone can carry. The two main categories studied here are crop
health monitoring, and pesticide spraying. In this paper, after a brief introduction about the use of UAV technology in
the agriculture field, their different types used for agriculture monitoring have been reviewed. Further, a discussion
about capturing high-resolution images and their analysis for crop health monitoring are done. Improvements in
pesticide spraying drones and development of a drone capable for spot spraying have been reviewed [4].

2. Literature Review
2.1 Agricultural Drones
Initially, the drone originated as a military tool and was given different names such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
(UAV), Miniature Pilotless Aircraft, or Flying Mini Robots. Nowadays it is being utilized in the business sector,
infrastructure sector, farming, security, insurance claims, mining, entertainment, telecommunication, and transport
sector, etc. The drone has a powerful market opportunity as is evident from the data given in Table 1. Such a broad
application of drones has resulted in a very fast improvement in drone technology, thereby making it more user-
friendly day by day. Nowadays, the application of small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is growing at a very fast
rate in agribusiness. Drones are semi-automatic devices that are continuously shifting toward fully automatic
devices. These devices have an enormous potential for agricultural planning and related spatial information
collection. In spite of some innate barriers, this technology can be utilized for productive data analysis. Initially,
UAVs were radio-controlled devices operated by a pilot from the ground, however, modern drones are GPS based
autopilot aerial vehicles. The type of cameras, sensors, controlling devices depends on the application of a drone. The
three main types of UAVs platforms are Fixed-wing, Helicopter, and Multi-copter. In the past decade, the unmanned
aerial vehicle (UAV) market was captured by fixed wings and helicopters. Nowadays, the use
of small drones in precision agriculture has shifted focus towards multi-copters that at present covers almost 50% of
the available UAV model. Performance of tiny sensors (accelerometers, magnetometers, gyros, and pressure sensors,
etc.), used in drone technology, is continuously increasing and their size is reducing day by day.
Moreover, the development of powerful processors, GPS modules, and increment in the range of digital radios is a
continuous process, and thus drone technology is also improving. New innovations in embedded systems and motors
have made it possible to reduce the size of UAVs and improved their payload capability. This further leads to better
controlling of drones for monitoring remote fields [5].

Table-1 Utilization of Drones in Different Sectors

2.1Crop Health Monitoring

Daily monitoring of crops is performed by the farmers to detect any potential threats such as diseases, pests, and
slow rate of growth. The traditional methods for monitoring crops were visual inspection and collecting ground
samples manually from random locations. For more than 50-years, color and infrared photography captured by
different platforms have been used for monitoring crop growth. A camera mounted drone identifies the crops with
diseases or deficiencies using advanced image data analytical tools. Drones in the agricultural sector are mainly
used for field mapping and crop monitoring, shown in Fig.1

(a) (b)

Fig. 1 – UAV application in agricultural field (a) Field mapping (b) Crop monitoring.

Investigation and analysis of UAV applications for crop monitoring has been carried out in this section. A
vegetation indices map can be created with the help of images captured by the drone-mounted camera. Crop
information such as crop disease, nutrients requirements, and water stress can be estimated based on these indices.
Vegetation indices help in differentiating between healthy, unhealthy plants and weeds. There are solid
relationships between harvest yield and vegetation indices estimated at certain harvest stages. These relationships
play a great role in monitoring the yield. Drones in the agriculture field perform many activities that help in
monitoring crop health and assist to take corrective actions and thus prevent the spoiling of crops.

For effective crop monitoring, the selection of sensors to be used along with drones is very important. The
sensor selection mainly depends upon their applications such as disease detection, nutrients detection, water status
identification, etc. Researchers have worked on the improvements of drones continuously and developed task-
specific drones for crop monitoring. However, the UAV system made its breakthrough in the agriculture sector in
around 2011, most likely because drone technology, as well as payload devices, became affordable and easy to use.
In 2010, A digital color-infrared camera system was developed by E. Raymond Hunt Jr. et al. for wheat field
monitoring. Vector-P UAV (from IntelliTech Microsystem) controlled by an autopilot computer program was used
to capture the photograph at user-selected points. The camera system was lightweight and compact in size suitable
for small UAV systems. Image data were successfully analyzed for crop condition and soil types; this analysis was
based upon Green Normalized Difference Vegetation Indices (GNDVI). This system lacked precise control and
image capturing was possible only at selected points [6].
2.2 Pesticide Training
This section is about research and developments in UAV based pesticide spraying systems. To date, mostly
conventional methods for pesticides application are being used in various parts of the world. The manual mechanical
sprayer is the most common tool for conventional pesticide application. Manual spraying of the pesticides affects
human beings and may lead to diseases like cancer, hypersensitivity, asthma, and other disorders. Additionally,
conventional methods have several other shortcomings such as extra chemicals use, farm labor shortage, lower spray
uniformity, environmental pollution, and less area coverage. These conventional methods cause a higher cost of
pesticide application and are less effective in controlling pests and diseases. To overcome these shortcomings, a
drone-mounted sprayer is being employed. The application of drone-mounted sprayers in the field has enhanced the
coverage ability, increased the chemical effectiveness, and made the spraying job easier and faster. A flow chart of
drones with an integrated spraying system is shown in Fig.2.

Fig.2 – Flow chart of Semi controlled UAVs for pesticide application.

The basic components of any drone are Brushless Direct Current Motors (BLDC), Electronic Speed
Control (ESC), Flight controller, Camera, Transmitter, and Receiver. The main parts of any spraying system are the
pump and its controlling system. In accessories: Accelerometer, gyroscope, GPS are used for controlling the drone.
To design a drone for spraying application, the first step is to estimate the payload. Components of the drone are
selected after the calculation of payload. Battery selection depends upon the current and voltage requirements of the
drone modules. Finally, the frame of the drone is designed depending upon the number of arms and payloads. First
UAV (unmanned helicopter) for pesticides application was developed by Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd., Shizuoka Japan
in 1983. The stability and controllability of this helicopter were not suitable for utilization in the field. Many
researchers have worked on the stability and controllability of UAVs as well as their spraying systems. In this
sequence, Y. Huang et al. had built a sprayer for UAV-based pest management in small fields. Pulse Width
Modulation (PWM) based controller was used for controlling this UAV system. This system gave satisfactory
results in vector control applications.
`Moreover, it was suitable for use at tough reachable sites. In 2010, Zhu et al. proposed a PWM regulator-
based preprogrammed and remotely controlled helicopter for pesticide spraying in the agriculture field . A fixed
frequency PWM (TL494), data acquisition system and software developed along with a guided system were used.
The PWM controller was tested on LabVIEW 8.2 software and after that, it was analyzed by using different control
signals to get the optimum result. A designed spraying system with a PWM controller has the ability to enhance the
efficiency of pesticide applications in the field. The system was remotely controlled, however, the telemetry system
used for signal transmission was not precise [7].
2.3 Sprinkling System
Generally, the sprinkling system is attached to the lower region of the UAV which has a nozzle beneath the pesticide
tank to sprinkle the pesticide downstream. The sprinkling system has two modules one is the sprinkling system itself
and the second one is Controller. The sprinkling system contains the spraying content (pesticides or fertilizers) and a
nozzle for spraying. The second one is a controller used to activate the nozzle of the sprayer. A pressure pump is a
component of the sprinkler system which pressurizes the pesticide to flow through the nozzle. A motor driver
integrated circuit is used to pressure the pump as per the requirement. Analysis of different spraying speeds and
nozzles used in UAVs for spraying are shown in Table 2.[8]

Table 2-Analysis of different spraying systems.

2.4 Benefits
A lot of scouting these days is done by interns on foot. At ground level it is hard to cover the entire field and get a
good look at the bigger picture. Especially in the late season, when the corn is over a person’s head, it is nearly
impossible to see the whole field on foot. Also, farms continue to get larger, and more acres have to be seen. Once
an entire field is covered by a drone, trouble spots can be identified and targeted for scouting on foot. Insurance
companies can use drones to get a better idea on the extent of damage after a hailstorm, easily determining whether
afield has 70% compared with 90% loss (Dinnerstein, 2013). Currently the way to get aerial images of a field are
either satellite images or possibly airplanes. These are limited by the resolution of their images and how often they
fly over a field. The 15-cm resolution of UAV cameras is over 40,000 times better than the most commonly
available satellite data and even 44 times better than the best commercial satellite images. Planes and satellites also
fly above cloud level and can be obstructed in bad weather. Drones have the advantage of being able to monitor a
field every week throughout the growing season. Satellites have a week or two delays before the images are
available. The drone operator runs on their own schedule and does not need to rely on the satellite flight path. This
also means they have the flexibility to re-fly over trouble spots or move in for a closer look [9].
 3.Methodology
The flight controller is the main board in the UAV is embedded with the most advanced firmware and responsible
for the actual flight. Flight controller controls lot of things simultaneously during the flight or UAV. It was built
with a micro controller and communicated to the four brushless motors. BLDC motor connects with the rotors in the
direction of the UAV configuration model. These BLDC motors are controlled by the Electronic Speed controllers
(ESC). The UAV is controlled by the Radio channel transmitter and receiver. Every RC transmitter has a number of
channels for individual activity to control the UAV [10]. A sample block diagram shown in Fig. 3

Fig.3 - Block Diagram of a Model UAV

3.1 Hardware Components

There are various components embedded to the UAV, for its motion control according to the sensed environments. Further,
more components that concern the UAV including distinctive sensors, applications, and their focal points. Different types of
hardware components and peripherals are used in UAVs are shown in Table 3.

Table 3-Different types of hardware components and their purposes.

4.Conclusion
This Report presents the state-of-the-art development of drone technology for precision farming. The Report covers
two main fields of drone applications in the area of Precision agriculture: crop monitoring, and pesticide spraying. In
particular, changes in drone structures, development of sensors for data collection, innovation in pesticide spraying
drone, implementation of deep learning, and AI in remote monitoring of crops have been addressed. It has been
concluded that there is a ramp in drone application for precision agriculture after 2017. This is due to the reduction of
weight, cost of UAVs, and increment in payload capability. Drones used in crop health monitoring and livestock
detection are mainly multi-copter and fixed-wing types. The size and cost of these drones are continuously reducing
day by day. Unmanned Helicopters are used mainly in pesticide or fertilizer spraying due to their high payload
capacity. However, the application of multi-copters is continuously increasing in pesticide spraying. Multi-copters
are a better option for spot spraying because of more stability in flight. Drone cameras have evolved a lot in their
weights, size, and resolution. Cameras are shifting from RGB to multispectral cameras due to more feature
extraction requirements. The controllers of the drones are improved from a basic microcontroller to AI- enabled
Arduino Uno and Raspberry Pi. Drone technologies are continuously shifting from semi controlled to fully
automated systems due to advanced research in embedded systems, data transmission, and data analysis. The
implementation of machine learning in drones has made it possible to create a farmer-friendly system. Still, there are
many issues related to the application of drone technology in the agriculture sector, which needs to be resolved to
increase the adoption rate of drones. The major challenges are the cost of technology, limited battery life of drones,
vision destruction, literacy about technology to end-user, and shortcomings of image processing and data analysis.

5.Future Scope
UAVs in precision agriculture is still in its early stage and maybe a scope for further development in both the
technology and the agriculture applications. Providentially, it is expended that with the development of UAV’S
technology, improved image processing techniques, lower costs, flying times, batteries, new camera designs, low
volume sprayers, and nozzle types. A significant number of experimental studies of UAV’S based remote sensing
for agriculture application. It will be more prominent advantages of these systems in precision agriculture and
environmental monitoring. The market for Drones is expanding day by day from the last two decades and they
have brought a significant revolution in the area of Industry, Military, Agriculture and many more. This study
investigated the importance of drones in Agriculture and has highlighted the various drones available for diverse
agriculture applications along with technical specifications. The paper is regarded as eye-opener for Industry and
Agriculture for development and integration of more drones for making Agriculture tasks better and in turn
yielding best crop quality in near future. Drones have many different uses for agriculture and more are being
created every year. The flexibility of UAV systems along with the number of additional features means that there
is something for every agricultural application. The cost is getting more affordable as more companies get into
the market and the savings means the systems pay for themselves in a short time. Getting a whole field view from
the air makes it easier to pick out problem spots and target them with precision agriculture systems. Weekly
aerial images of a field can be combined with the yield maps at the end of the season to look for patterns and
trouble spots. Farmers are already moving toward more auto-steer equipment and variable rate mapping, and
drones can easily be integrated into these programs. Once regulations are implemented, drones could become a
commonly used tool for agronomists and farmers.
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