NEW TECHNOLOGY
Wilson says Thompsons chose the compact Aeryon Scout Micro-UAV(unmanned aerial vehicle) for its rugged four-rotor design. “This one has four helicopter blades and we can fly it in stronger winds,” he notes. “The camera is on a gyroscope and compensates for some shifts.”
Equipped with GPS navigation, the UAV is controlled by a touch-screen tablet after a flight plan has been set. Thompsons charges a fee of about $5.00 an acre per flight.
Wilson says the opportunity to see a field from above at 1,000 feet offers a different perspective. It can show patterns and issues that people may not realize are in the field. In addition, he says it adds an important piece of information.
“With all the new technology that comes with the new monitors and data collection, whether it’s in a planter, combine or the fertilizer truck that’s coming to spread your variable rate fertilizer, it can only do as good a job as the information you put into it,” advises Wilson. “If you don’t have the right data layer for the truck to read that matches the customer’s goals, then it’s not going to do the job he’s looking for.”