A team belonging to ICAERUS coordinating partner Agricultural University of Athens (AUA) has published two chapters in the 1st edition of a book called Unmanned Aerial Systems in Agriculture – Eyes Above Fields, available on ELSEVIER. The book integrates knowledge in the field to bridge the gap between concept and practical use to provide an extensive, holistic view of the use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) for agricultural applications, and their use in sustainable decision making.
“UAV Applications in Orchards and Vineyards”
Kasimati A., Lomis A., Psiroukis V., Darra N., Koutsiaras M.G., Papadopoulos G., Fountas S.
This chapter focuses on the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in precision agriculture, particularly for fruit tree growth management. The use of UAVs in agriculture is becoming increasingly popular as it can provide detailed and accurate information on fruit crop health and resource use, while reducing labour and increasing yields. UAV technology has the potential to transform agricultural monitoring, mapping and application techniques by providing faster, safer and cheaper ways to collect large amounts of data and track the development and dynamics of tree growth and structure over time. The chapter also looks at the use of drones for pest control and irrigation efficiency, as well as for yield forecasting and selective harvesting. It also discusses the importance of flight planning. Overall, drones have the potential to improve decision-making in orchard and vineyard management, although constraints such as limited flight time and weather conditions need to be considered.
“UAV Applications in Vegetables and Arable Crops”
Psiroukis V., Papadopoulos G., Darra N., Koutsiaras M.G., Lomis A., Kasimati A., Fountas, S.
The recent boom in agricultural data caused by the widespread accessibility of sensors in the sector has enabled complex monitoring methodologies to be easily adopted. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in particular have become a hot spot for both research and commercial applications across the agricultural sector, due to the wide range of operations they facilitate along with the unparalleled efficiency and flexibility they offer. This chapter presents UAV applications in the horticultural and arable sectors, by initially describing fundamental principles on surveying aspects, followed by an extended overview of use cases and active research. To this end, a wide range of applications are presented in detail, along with the respective technological components and data sources that enable them. Overall, this chapter aims to assist both agricultural researchers that want to incorporate
UAV methods in their experiments, as well as individual farmers interested in the capabilities of this new technology.”
The book chapters served as an initiative in which the coordinators of the ICAERUS and SPADE projects collaborated on the topic central to both endeavors: “Unmanned Aerial Systems in Agriculture.”
Stay tuned for more collaboration between these projects as well as CHAMELEON at the upcoming Synergy Days event in Thessaloniki in Greece October 4-5.
