Technology carriers for precision agriculture: a practical view with pros and cons

Prof. José Francisco López /IUMA-ULPGC (Gran Canaria, Spain)

Precision agriculture has gained adepts in the last years due to its ability to detect crop’s health and predict the yield adapted to climate change. It is mainly based on the use of GPS, sensors (mainly multi- and hyperspectral) and the use of algorithms based on artificial intelligence to manage big amounts of data. As result, there is a more efficient use of resources in crop production and a reduced input use (water, fertilizer, seeds, herbicides, insecticides, etc) with a clear economic and environmental impact. But these sensors need to be incorporated into devices, or “carriers”, able to generate a different aerial perspective and facilitate the capturing of data. The goal is to give and “easy-to-read” information map extracted from large amounts of data.
In this talk the author will talk about these sensors and will introduce some of the technology “carriers” mainly categorized depending on their altitude, cost and performance. Pros and cons will be discussed and new artifacts will be presented guiding the audience to a visionary scenario in which technology and agriculture will “fly” together.