QuestUAV’s All-Round Package for Precision Agriculture Mapping

Simple Mapping Workflow – Quality Data – Better Decisions

Aerial images captured by a drone are a great asset for growers and agronomists. They can monitor the health and vigour and track change over time.

When equipped with the MicaSense RedEdge camera, the Q-100 DATAhawkAg captures images in five discrete spectral bands, designed to detect patterns correlated to crop vigour, plant stress and nutrient content.

This easily operated fixed-wing drone covers hundreds of hectares in a single flight; providing high-quality multispectral data for crop monitoring and analysis in an automated workflow.

This means, fewer flights, better information to alter nutrient inputs, actions to address diseases and the ability to monitor progress over time using the analytical map interface.

Data processing and analysis has never been easier with the MicaSense ATLAS processing service. QuestUAV users can upload their data to the ATLAS cloud for processing, storage and data management. An intuitive map interface allows access to crop health maps from any internet-connected device.  

Soil Analysis with Rugged Equipment

QuestUAV Q-100 DATAhawkAg

The Q-100 DATAhawkAg is a compact multispectral mapping drone with an exceptionally easy hand-launch.

The entire UAV is ultra-rugged, can be rapidly deployed and flies an autonomous and stable route even in high winds.

Flight endurance is up to 55 minutes at 18 m/s covering up to 300 hectares per flight at 400ft.

Multiple landing options, including automatic and parachute landing, allow for an easy and safe operation in open and confined environments.

MicaSense RedEdge

The Q-100 DATAhawkAg carries the MicaSense RedEdge sensor, a multispectral unit
capturing data in five discrete spectral bands (near-infrared, red-edge, red, green and blue)
optimally sensing plant reflectance.

Plants reflect light in a predictable pattern across visible and non-visible wavelengths. These patterns are correlated to crop vigour and plant stress as well as nutrient content.

MicaSense RedEdge optimally senses plant reflectance with narrowband filters delivering the information needed to assess crop status.

Growers and agronomists can alter nutrient inputs and take action based on the images.

8cm Res Data Acquisition

QuestUAV’s intuitive flight planning software allows users to plan a flight mission from autonomous take-off through site surveying at specific height and image overlap until autonomous landing.

QuestUAV planning software (left) and Q-100 DATAhawkAg before take-off.

Having arrived on site, it only takes a pilot 10 minutes of preparation to get airborne. Images are acquired as soon as the Q-100 DATAhawkAg approaches survey height and starts flying the grid lines.

Every second the MicaSense sensor captures five images (one for each spectral band) and writes them to the internal SD card. The Ground Sampling Distance (GSD) at 400ft is 9cm. Geo-coordinates are directly written to the image EXIF.

Data Upload and Processing

After flight images can be directly uploaded from the SD card to MicaSense ATLAS for storage, photogrammetric processing, analysis and presentation.

Datasets are processed as soon as the upload is completed and outputs are available within 24 hours.

MicaSense ATLAS is a cloud-based solution enabling users to automatically process multispectral data and extract multiple outputs such as ortho mosaics, vegetation index maps (e.g. NDVI and NDRE) and Digital Surface Models (DSMs).

Each layer is reflectance-calibrated and registered at the sub-pixel level, with the value for each pixel indicative of percent reflectance for that band, providing valuable information on crop health at all stages of growth.

Data Management, Analysis and Presentation

Once MicaSense has completed the processing, all layers can be viewed in a secure web-based map interface. All data can also be downloaded as GeoTIFF files for advanced analysis in GIS software.

Data sets are organised in a ‘Farms and Fields’ structure. Users can create field boundaries online and ATLAS automatically organises the data into the field boundaries.

The map interface allows users to view RGB ortho mosaics, DSM and index maps in a multi-layer stack as well as to scout the field and share information with their farm management team.

Field analysis is supported by a note function where users can annotate fields with points, lines and polygons and add a description or a photograph to it.

Zooming to full resolution is possible without the need to download large files. Layers can be turned on and off by selection.

https://youtu.be/ZogbFbLLWtA

Summary

QuestUAV provides farmers and agronomists with a simple workflow to monitor crop status and plant health over time. The QuestUAV Q-100 DATAhawkAg autonomously maps hundreds of hectares in a single flight.

Equipped with the MicaSense RedEdge camera, the Q-100 DATAhawkAg captures images in five discrete spectral bands, designed to detect patterns correlated to crop vigour, plant stress and nutrient content.

Datasets can be securely uploaded to MicaSense ATLAS for processing, storage and management.

The intuitive map interface of ATLAS allows users to view and analyse their data from any online device. Datasets can also be downloaded as GeoTiff files for advanced analysis in GIS software.

Visit QuestUAV