The entry-level CultiWise drone will reportedly allow farmers to generate high-precision prescription maps within hours, even when conventional satellite images fail due to cloud cover.
Developed by Czech startup Skymaps, the software is said to provide a yield benefit of up to 20%, with a possible return on investment in the first season. It is available to CultiWise cloud-based analytics subscribers, starting at 5 Euros per hectare. Optional CultiWise drones start at 4,200 Euros.
Skymaps chief technology officer, Komel Cziria, said: “With the new CultiWise feature and compact drone, farmers can capture the field data instantly and start spraying the same day.”
The CultiWise drone offers mapping for more than 200ha per flight hour and centimetre-level accuracy, a requirement when targeting crop zones. By using either multispectral or RGB cameras images can be generated, uploaded, and converted into application maps for variable rate and spot spraying.
CultiWise engineers developed the software using data from hundreds of European farms. The system supports all main crops, including corn, winter wheat, soybean, sugar beet, sunflower, rapeseed, potatoes and onions.
Cziria concludes, “Drone cameras capture far more detail than satellites. This allows us to eliminate any soil interference for a clearer assessment of crop health.”
For more information go to www.cultiwise.com
