Performing Department
Agri Engineering
Non Technical Summary
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV's) have become popular due to their new found availability to the public and relative ease of use. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles have been used successfully and proven reliable for various military operations. However, we should not blindly believe that UAV's can be a catch-all solution to any and every situation. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles have the potential to be an important tool in the decision making process of various agricultural operations. The purpose of this study is to "fill-in-the-gap" between the technological advances of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and the needs and expectations of agricultural producers. In attending various UAV and producer meetings, there is a noticeable disconnect between the technology and "pretty pictures" that can be produced using UAV technology and usable information that agricultural producers can use to make decisions. This project will attempt to bridge the divide between the technology and its practical application. We will consult and collaborate with agricultural producers to learn what information is most important to improving production efficiency based upon unmanned aerial vehicle technology by determining and evaluating what we can detect and record and how we can present this information in a format that producers need and can relate to.
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
40%
Applied
30%
Developmental
30%
Goals / Objectives
GoalsThe goals of the proposed research program are:To assess the capabilities of the DJI Phantom 3 Professional Unmanned Aerial Vehicle as it can be related and applied to agricultural projects at Fort Valley State University & the State of Georgia. This will include performing comparative analysis on agricultural field images produced by various camera lenses and filter configurations.To develop and implement a training program for student researchers, limited resource farmers and university personnel on safety, operating procedures and regulations regarding Unmanned Aerial Vehicle use in agriculture.To develop the infrastructure needed to expand and pursue other Unmanned Vehicle platforms and research opportunities.To develop and refine experimental and data collection procedures for various agricultural UAV applications directly related to the needs of the University and our Cooperative Extension constituents (producers, researchers, and students).
Project Methods
MethodologyObjective 1: Platform AssessmentWe will develop and implement a training program for researchers, small farmers, and university constituents interested in learning more about Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, as it is imperative that UVA operators have a baseline working knowledge of the equipment and its capabilities. Developing standard operating procedures will allow enhanced experimental repeatability in subsequent data collection.Required Material to be covered.Standards or measures for determining operational proficiency.Spectral Imaging CapabilitiesStill vs. Video FootageLens & Filters configurations will be visually compared to determine the optimum configurations for detecting various indicators.Flight Planning Capabilities and RepeatabilityFull Automation vs. Human Assisted vs. Manual LaborWe will perform time trials on capturing visual data. We will compare and analyze the time that it takes to complete data collection using automated UAV, human operator UAV and manual labor techniques.GPS Data HandlingPlatform Assessment - Determine the pro's & cons of using each platform.IOS (Apple)Android (Google)Training will be provided using short course, demonstrations and hands-on experiential methods. In the first year of the project we anticipate training between 7 - 12 participants. Each subsequent year of the project we anticipate increasing the number of trainees by 50% per year.Objective 2: General Basic TrainingWe will develop the skillset of faculty and student researchers in the latest techniques and requirements for safe, legal UAV operation. Due to the developing and ever-changing landscape of the UAV market and regulatory requirements, it is imperative that faculty and student researchers maintain up-to-date training and a current working knowledge of rules, regulations and all future (anticipated) requirements. Therefore, training will be an ongoing process during the implementation of this project.Formal Training Pilot Regulations & Certification - May include training sessions conducted by the manufacturer &/or distributors. These training sessions may vary in delivery (webinar/online course/live classroom course/video course) and will be recommended by The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI). Upon successful completion, participants will be encouraged to take the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Unmanned Aircraft Knowledge Test at the FAA test center in Warner Robins, Georgia at Central Georgia Technical College (Site ID: LAS31002). Upon successful completion of the FAA Unmanned Aircraft Knowledge Test, the student can apply to become a certified Pilot. We propose covering the cost of these training sessions for the participants who successfully complete the initial training proposed in Objective 1.Hands-On Training - Training will be done using directed hands on operation of the DJI Phantom 3 Professional UAV with direct supervision from an experienced operator (Dr. Williams or trained designee) with experience using established training guides provided by the manufacturer (DJI).Adoption, development and refinement of future training protocols to meet any current and/or future FAA regulations or requirements.Flight (Pilot) recurrent (certificate holders must pass a recurrent knowledge test every two years), training to meet all Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirements for operators. May include travel for training if needed.Objective 3: Experimental Procedure Development Develop collaborations with agricultural producers in testing and refining basic experimentation techniques using UAV capabilities to assist in the assessment of agricultural crops and or livestock.Set up Consultation/Listening Sessions agricultural producers and researchers to assess the type of information producers, researchers, etc. use to make management decisions in an effort to coordinate and correlate information that may be obtained using UAV's and the information required to make decisionsMeet and collaborate with local agricultural producers to determine the applicability of UAV technology to grower needs and requirements during agricultural production, includingDisease detectionPest detectionDetection of nutrient deficienciesUnknown conditionsHeight determination and image resolution needed to capture pertinent information relative to pre-determined objectives. This will include performing pilot tests to determine UAV altitude and/or speed that give the best resolution images for evaluation.Statistical AnalysisStatistical analysis will be used to determine how well the UAV can detect known issues that affect the production of peaches. These issues will range from diseases, pests and other issues that can significantly affect agricultural production. We will also evaluate how well the UAV can identify unknown problem areas, as well as assess the performance of different UAV camera lens & filter configurations. We will employ conventional statistical methods to analyze data capture times and image capture configurations. As the research and our experience progress, we will be better able to refine and expand experimental configurations and the statistical methods required for analysis in consultation with both agricultural producers and a statistician. We cannot fully anticipate the final analysis until preliminary data has been collected, examined and correlated.