The rotorcraft UAVs (unmanned aircraft vehicles) developed by Shenyang Institute of Automation (SIA), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) went through variable-rate pesticide spraying flight experiments in the Fourth Division of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corp during July 21 to 26, 2011. The success of the experiments shows the robot’s integrated operation capability of performing farmland remote sensing and pesticide spraying, demonstrating its application advantages in scale production for China’s modern agriculture.

It is the first time for SIA’s rotorcraft UAV to conduct experiment in precision agriculture, also the first try for Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps to apply such equipment in variable-rate pesticide spraying.

In face of the high intensity and difficulty of working on an expansive area, the experiment team tailored a two-stage plan. In the first stage, a minitype rotorcraft UAV makes a low flight over the farmland, to sense and gather information of the plants’ pest, disease and growing progress with the hyperspectral agricultural camera it carries. After that, the rotorcraft UAV carries out precise variable pesticide spray at an ultra-low flying altitude. This method can not only economize manpower and pesticide, but also boost the efficiency of pesticide spraying.

With full support from the Fourth Division, the team accomplished experiments on tomatoes, rapes, corns and rice, etc., validating the system’s application potential in planting various crops, as well as getting back precious experimental data.
The superintendent of the Fourth Division, as well as agriculture experts all gave positive remarks on the system’s application and foreground in Xinjiang. Through the experiments, SIA staff also got to know the shortcomings of the system and will make further adjustments on the system.