Chapter 4 - Application of unmanned aerial vehicles in precision agriculture

Abstract

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are the robotic devices that can fly without the help of a pilot. These robotic devices include a broad range of vehicles such as drones, micro and nanoaerial vehicles that can move through the air due to the control unit that directs the propulsion system for lift and push. The lightweight micro-UAVs are now commercially available by integrating the multispectral sensors of various ranges, such as consumer grade low-cost multispectral cameras and complex high-end multisensory systems. The UAVs, which were originally developed for military purposes such as border patrol, are now commonly used to achieve other goals such as surveillance and management of disaster areas, agricultural crop monitoring, chemical spraying in field crops, courier services, and firefighting. This chapter discusses the various types of UAVs and their applications for the purpose of agricultural activities especially for crop farming, health monitoring, yield estimation, pest and disease detection and management, crop irrigation, seeding and land restoration, fertilizer spreading, spraying agrochemicals, animal husbandry and geofencing. Furthermore, recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) enhance its efficiency for precision variable rate application and safety under complex agricultural environments.