Agronomists are forever in search of new, innovative ways to improve farming efficiencies for their clients. Over the years, they have steadily rethought irrigation techniques, seedling practices, and crop locations. Today, many agronomists have turned to drones as their indispensable agricultural tool. And with DroneDeploy’s new product release earlier this month, there are three new features that are musts when it comes to increasing yields and improving profitability.
Manual Flight
Live Map is one of the most vital features agronomists use in the field. It allows them to quickly capture aerial images of the crops, turning hundreds of acres of farmland into extremely accurate, high-resolution maps. From there, they use the flight data to examine crops, analyze plant health, and spot crop variabilities. However, the automated process of Live Map does not support a pilot wishing to perform up-close inspections of specific areas of the crops.
Now, with Manual Flight, if a pilot sees an issue with the field from the Live Map, they can explore the acreage however they wish. They can perform low-altitude inspections of plants, zeroing in on points of interest while simultaneously navigating through tight spaces. It lets pilots explore crops however they wish. And since Manual Flight is fully integrated with the DroneDeploy platform, companies have peace of mind knowing that their drone operations are captured and housed all in one place.
Side by Side
Understanding the ins and outs of a farm is a must for any agricultural enterprise. More importantly, immediately recognizing if your solutions are working enable agronomists to make prompt, reliable recommendations. Before, aerial data would need to be compared manually. But with DroneDeploy’s new Side by Side feature, analysts can perform side-by-side comparisons right on their desktop, comparing the performance of a farm’s crops over long stretches of time.
By showing annotations in slider view, agronomists can easily analyze elevation profiles, plant counts, and crop health over a period of many months. This in-depth map empowers users to easily explore how crops have changed over time. Based off this analysis, agronomists can determine whether the farm’s watering techniques need altering, seedling recommendations need adjusting, or crop locations need to be modified.
Drone Operations Management
The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates there to be nearly a billion acres of farmland in the United States. To capture and analyze that much acreage would take an eternity, so companies have launched fleets of drones as a method to quickly and accurately pull data. But with more and more pilots taking flight, it’s inevitable problems can arise.
With DroneDeploy’s new Drone Operations Management, though, companies have the confidence their pilots are following their detailed flight plans while operating safely and compliantly. Using this feature, both companies and pilots have access to pre-flight checklists and flight logs, which capture information at the time of flight--minimizing the risk of drone crashes, property damage, or danger to individuals. It also automatically reports on overall usage and pilot behavior.
By analyzing this data, companies can identify what is and isn’t working within their drone program, boosting performance and saving hours of valuable time.
The Path Forward
While these are just three of the features that can benefit your drone program, our entire suite of solutions allow you to take drones beyond the limits of flight. Our recent product launch was just the start of what’s to come. With new product features in the pipeline, DroneDeploy is taking measures to positively position your company for the future.