Draganfly Innovations, a provider of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) solutions and services, has announced that it has developed three new specialised drone payloads for agricultural research and environmental monitoring applications. The camera payloads have been developed with input from experts in the agricultural and water resources fields, including the University of Saskatchewan’s Plant Phenotyping and Imaging Research Centre (P2IRC), the University of Saskatchewan’s Global Water Futures, and the Government of Canada’s Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food.
The payloads are intended to increase efficiency and improve the spatial and spectral quality of gathered aerial data, and are integrated with the UAV’s autopilot, flight control system, and mission planning software to allow automatic planning and push-button flight execution. The three new payloads are:
Corning microHSI hyperspectral sensor: capable of recording up to 155 user-selectable light bands, allowing researchers to target specific light spectrums. Ideal for a range of applications including precision agriculture, environmental monitoring, and oil & gas, this payload is available on the Draganflyer Commander UAV and the DJI M600 Pro.
100MP Phase One Industrial iXM-100 still camera with MicaSense RedEdge-MX multispectral 5-band sensor: this dual-sensor payload offers simultaneous capture of multispectral and high resolution visual imagery. The control system allows for geo-referencing and automatic, simultaneous camera shutter and data logging. The payload is available for the DJI M600 Pro.
42MP Sony a7R still camera with MicaSense RedEdge-MX multispectral 5-band sensor: also provides simultaneous capture of multispectral and high resolution visual imagery, for less demanding applications.
Cory Baker, Production Manager at Draganfly Innovations, commented: “We are excited to offer systems and equipment to researchers and government agencies looking to improve on their current data collection methods. We’re confident these payload offerings can add immense value.”
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