Presented to: Board of Directors, Agricultural Council of ArkansasW. Memphis, AR , May 13, 2014 Emerging Technologies in Precision Agriculture Arkansas Based EffortsMobileApps & CloudUnmanned Aerial Systems (UAS)&

Dharmendra Saraswat, Ph.D.Associate Professor/Extension Engineer-GeospatialBiological and Agricultural Engineering

James Robbins, Ph.D.Professor and Ornamental Crops SpecialistDepartment of Horticulture

"...when you are trying something new, hard, or innovative, failure is not only inevitable, but it is also sometimes necessary ..."Amy Elliott at TEDxVirginiaTech

Outline

UAS- Backgroundweve come a long way baby

There is nothing unmanned about an unmanned system!

What are they called:Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) (FAA and Congress)Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) (ICAO and Air Force)DronesWhat is an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS)?

UAS Classification by Size*Source: : Congressional Budget Office, Policy Options for Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Publication 4083, Washington, DC, June 2011

UAS Classification by Weight*Source: : Weibel and Hansman, 2004. Safety considerations for operation of different classes of UAVs in the NAS. Chicago, IL.

RotaryDJI Phantom (

Swinglet CAMhttp://www.sensefly.comFixed WingTrimble-Gatewing$ 20- $25 Khttp://uas.trimble.com/Precision Hawk

Future of Farming?????

3 Ds of UAS UseDullPersistence beyond manned capabilities

Dirty Poisonous/Radioactive Environments

DangerousAnti-Access/Area Denial Operations

AUVSIs 2013 Economic Report:2015-2017 : Economic Impact- $80M, Taxes- $0.94M, Jobs Created- 411 2015-2025: Economic Impact- $481M, Taxes- $5.63M , Jobs Created- 608Economic Impact of UAS in Arkansas

What is gained by UAS adoption?Source: Ehsani et al., 2012

Agriculture is a very sophisticated industry and farmers are very data hungry and they have not been well served, historically, in providing that data. They need on-demand data, they need it very high resolution and they need it often.Meet the New Drone That Could Be a Farmers Best Friend, Rachel Rohr, Modern Farmer, January 21, 2014

~ 5 cm/pixel (2 inch/pixel) ~ 50 cm/pixel (20 inch/pixel)Resolution Comparison

As Needed BasisVertical takeoffCostPre-programmed flight

Future Potential

Precision agriculture totals approximately 80% of the potential commercial market for UAVPrecision application, a practice especially useful for crop farmers and horticulturists, utilizes effective and efficient spray techniques to more selectively cover plants and fields. This allows farmers to provide only the needed pesticide or nutrient to each plant, reducing the total amount sprayed, and thus saving money and reducing environmental impacts.UAV in agriculture has the potential to have an $11 billion economic impact in the first three years following integration. Almost $66 billion over 11 years.UAV and Precision AgricultureSource: Michael Toscano, President and CEO, AUVSI

How will UAS be used in a agriculture?

DuPont PioneerThis year DuPont Pioneer is providing remote sensing imagery services to growers though Pioneer Field 360 services.

Monsanto FieldScriptFieldScripts is planned to launch in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Minnesota in 2014

FS Green Plan Solutions (GROWMARK)Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Ontario

TrimbleAcquired Gatewing, a Belgian company

Leica GeosystemsCollaborated with Swissdrones

Emerging Commercial UAV Uses

Challenges to Widespread AdoptionSafetyPrivacyThe challenge for industry is that the public perception of this technology is being shaped by one percent of its [potential] use. - Peter W. Singer, Director for 21st Century Security and Intelligence, Brookings Institute

I certainly dont want em flying over my house Beafore says. But heemphasizes surveillance is not what his UAVs are about. The first uses will probably be agricultural, checking crops for mold or standing water.

The corn doesnt care, he says.Frank Beafore, SelectTech Geospatial, New York, Texas among test sites for commercial drones, Marketplace, December 12, 2013

Safety of Operation- MIT StudyGround Impact of UAV accident*Source: : Weibel and Hansman, 2005. Report No. ICAT-2005-1

Extend battery life (stay aloft for 5-15 minutes - limited ground coverage) Variety of UAV types (semi-autonomous, hand launched etc.) Research data on reliability is missing (500 hrs, 1000 hrs etc. useful life) Weather robust Missing data network to download images and videos from multiple UAVs Minimize solar flare impact on navigation

Challenges- System Issues

InsuranceFocus on data collection, analysis, and interpretationSensors- Thermal imagery- reliable temperature measurement, uncooled vs cooled cameraSoftware supportGreater Funding SupportThe Commonwealth of Virginia announced it will award more than $2.6 million over three years in Federal Action Contingency Trust (FACT) funds to Virginia TechHawaii ($100,000),Maryland through ($500,000), Nevada ($4M), North Dakota ($1M), for UAV test site

Challenges- Operational Needs and Funding

Our ExperienceInventory Management a. Christmas Tree Farms b. Open Field Nurseries c. Citrus Orchards2. Row-Crops3. Others

Christmas Tree Farm

Results and Challenge

Inventory Management in Open Field Nurseries

Plant Count- open-field nurseries

Source: Ehsani, UFLDiameter Estimation/Plant Grade- Citrus

Citrus disease/stress detectionThermal CameraSource: Ehsani et al., 2012

Visually, this variety in particular seems to be doing better than others on the dark soilNDVI Image (dark soil vs. regular soil. The dark green shows higher biomass and healthier cropFalse color imageSource: Ehsani, UFLSource: Ehsani et al., 2012

Mobile Apps

Mobile Technology- On the Rise

Mobile Operating System Use Statistics

Mobile Apps and Farm Community*Source: www.paulsenmarketing.com** Source: agriculture.com, John Walter, 11/02/2011

Reality of Internet SpeedMap Source: Connect Arkansas19 to 30% of rural households in southeastern USA lacks broadband internet**Source: The Congressional Research Service, July, 2013

Mobile App Design FocusProvide research based, updated information, 24/7, at right location- i.e. field or work placeDownload Once, Use it BunchFulfilling the mission of land grant university system

Mobile Apps Status- since January 2013Released Educational AppsCorn Advisor- both Android and iOSManure Valuator- both Android and iOSHort Plants- iOSCotton Advisor- AndroidUndergoing Beta Testing- Educational AppsCE Budgets- both Android and iOSSoybean Advisor- both Android and iOSDrought Advisor- Android WeedID- both Android and iOS

Drought Advisor- Some Examples

Cloud Applicationhttps://fttcloud.uaex.edu

FeaturesHoused in a dynamically scalable cloud computing environment, the FTTCloud allows:

a) digital establishment of relationships across user types,b) visualization of field data voluntarily entered by users,c) sharing of field data among the trusted user base, andd) a snapshot of its statewide adoption status.

ConclusionUAS technology is moving ahead at a faster pace than regulationsPrecision agricultural is expected to be the largest beneficiaryFAAs regulations are eagerly awaitedMobile phone apps and cloud technologies are helping bring RTTP protocol to realityExciting times lay ahead

AcknowledgmentsColleagues in the U of A Division of AgricultureStaff and students in geospatial program

**************Broadband: as per FCC "download speeds of no less than 4 Mbps and upload speed of 1 Mbps. Connect Arkansas has mapped high speed internet connectivity of no less than 768 kbps download and upload speeds no less than 200 kbps *