K
Kathleen Martin
Guest
Wading through crop fields searching for insects, diseases, weeds, nutrient deficiencies, uneven emergence, and other maladies consumes time and effort.
“Even when the corn is just knee high, you can only see a couple hundred yards in each direction,” points out J.D. Bethel, an agronomist with Integrated Ag Services (IAS), Milford Center, Ohio.
This makes it almost impossible to see emerging weeds like giant ragweed that quickly become, well, giant. IAS aims to nix this scenario and others by pairing artificial intelligence developed by Taranis with flights of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) during the growing season.
Taranis officials say its AI2 SmartScout captures 0.3 millimeter per pixel resolution from UAVs at a speed of 100 acres in six minutes. In comparison, the best satellite resolution is about 1.2 meters per pixel, says Mike DiPaola, Taranis general manager of North America and vice president of global sales.
“It can easily identify a bean leaf beetle or a Japanese beetle on a soybean leaf,” says Bethel. “We have even been able to count the hairs on a soybean leaf or the colors of the flowers on soybeans. That’s the sort of resolution it can achieve.”
Confirmation still is required, of course. “You still want to go out and check if it is indeed a waterhemp plant that the program has identified,” says Bethel.
Even when making a field visit, this technology boosts scouting efficiency, according to IAS and Taranis officials. Taranis software also contains a feature that farmers and agronomists can use to prioritize field visits.
“There may be only 15% of fields that they [agronomists and consultants] need to immediately visit,” says Evan Delk, IAS vice president of sales and marketing. “If they’re instead trying to get across every single acre, their time is not being utilized as it should be. Our consultants need to be in front of the grower, helping them make better decisions.”
Continue reading: https://www.agriculture.com/technology/uavs-team-with-artificial-intelligence-to-boost-crop-scouting-efficiency
“Even when the corn is just knee high, you can only see a couple hundred yards in each direction,” points out J.D. Bethel, an agronomist with Integrated Ag Services (IAS), Milford Center, Ohio.
This makes it almost impossible to see emerging weeds like giant ragweed that quickly become, well, giant. IAS aims to nix this scenario and others by pairing artificial intelligence developed by Taranis with flights of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) during the growing season.
Taranis officials say its AI2 SmartScout captures 0.3 millimeter per pixel resolution from UAVs at a speed of 100 acres in six minutes. In comparison, the best satellite resolution is about 1.2 meters per pixel, says Mike DiPaola, Taranis general manager of North America and vice president of global sales.
“It can easily identify a bean leaf beetle or a Japanese beetle on a soybean leaf,” says Bethel. “We have even been able to count the hairs on a soybean leaf or the colors of the flowers on soybeans. That’s the sort of resolution it can achieve.”
Confirmation still is required, of course. “You still want to go out and check if it is indeed a waterhemp plant that the program has identified,” says Bethel.
Even when making a field visit, this technology boosts scouting efficiency, according to IAS and Taranis officials. Taranis software also contains a feature that farmers and agronomists can use to prioritize field visits.
“There may be only 15% of fields that they [agronomists and consultants] need to immediately visit,” says Evan Delk, IAS vice president of sales and marketing. “If they’re instead trying to get across every single acre, their time is not being utilized as it should be. Our consultants need to be in front of the grower, helping them make better decisions.”
Continue reading: https://www.agriculture.com/technology/uavs-team-with-artificial-intelligence-to-boost-crop-scouting-efficiency
