XAG attended the 2nd US Spray Drone User Conference held from February 26th to 29th in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Hosted by Auburn University Extension and partly sponsored by XAG’s US partner, Pegasus Robotics, the conference showcased the latest advancements in agricultural drone technology and precision spraying solutions. Over 300 industry experts, unmanned aircraft operators, and agricultural producers attended this annual gathering.
XAG P100 Pro Agricultural Drone, the industry-leading product released in the US market, was introduced during the conference. This fully autonomous, foldable quadcopter with a 50 kg payload is designed for spraying, spreading, and field mapping. Its innovative features, including RTK centimeter-level navigation, automatic obstacle avoidance, rotary atomization spraying, and App route planning, elevate precision, efficiency and safety to new heights.
Pegasus Robotics presented its capabilities for precise spraying and provided solutions for drone-based agricultural production. Attendees were also treated to live flight demonstrations in the field to experience its ease of operation and effectiveness.
XAG’s Co-founder Justin Gong was invited to the conference and his presence underscored XAG’s commitment to innovation and collaboration within the smart farming industry. As a pioneer in the field, Gong shared insights and expertise during keynote speech and panel discussions, highlighting the importance of sustainable agricultural practices and the role of drones in modern farming.
“We are thrilled to have Dr. Justin Gong from XAG join us at the US 2nd Spray Drone User Conference,” said Arthur Chen, CEO of Pegasus Robotics. “His presence and expertise have added tremendous value to our discussions on the future of agricultural drone technology.”
Gong expressed his excitement about the advancements showcased at the conference, stating, “It’s inspiring to see the continuous innovation and dedication within the agricultural drone industry. Events like these provide valuable opportunities for collaboration and knowledge sharing, ultimately driving forward the adoption of sustainable farming practices, with the ongoing development of smart farming tools.”
The application prospect of XAG’s agricultural drone in the US market was also discussed. As one of the world’s leading grain producers, the US has vast arable land covering 1.6 billion hectares and supplies food crops such as corn, soybeans, and wheat. But in recent years, farmers face the increasing challenge of rural aging, resource scarcity, and climate change. According to the US Department of Agriculture, the average age of farmers in 2023 was over 57, with those over 65 managing 40% of the nation’s farmland.
Now the use of agricultural drones has grown rapidly in the US, with many farmers showing interest in this technology. XAG’s agricultural drones have great potential in the US market, as they offer various functions that help reduce pesticide and fertilizer use, cut production costs, and improve farming efficiency.
About XAG:
XAG is a leading agriculture technology company and one of the world’s largest agricultural drone providers. Founded in 2007, XAG focuses on the development, manufacturing, and promotion of autonomous machinery and solutions to empower agriculture.
Their product portfolio spans Agricultural Drone, Unmanned Ground Vehicle, Remote Sensing Drone, Tractor Autopilot Console, and Smart Farm Product. In face of labor shortage and climate change, XAG’s solution is dedicated to helping farmers reduce production costs, and make farm work more efficient and safer.
About Pegasus Robotics:
Pegasus Robotics is a leading provider empowering agriculture with innovative drone robotic technology. Dedicated to enhancing farm productivity and crop yields, they offer durable, efficient, and easy-to-repair drones, backed by comprehensive training and support in the US and Canada. The expertise rooted in agricultural heritage drives Pegasus Robotics to deliver exceptional customer service and advanced solutions, ensuring every farmer is equipped for the future of precision agriculture.
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XAG, the trailblazers of agriculture robotics and AI, has geared up to launch its V40 and P40 Agricultural Drone globally, bringing digital agriculture into more rural areas with aging populations and weak infrastructure. The XAG V40 and P40 are fully autonomous drones that can conduct mapping, spraying, and broadcast on farm. They are designed in supporting farmers’ transition to climate-smart practices, driving greater growth with lower carbon footprints and less agrochemical.
The V40, as the flagship model of XAG V Series Agricultural Drone, is a milestone of getting farmers connected to the digital age. It is the first tilting twin-rotor unmanned flying platform of its kind in agriculture to find the right balance between precision, performance, and efficiency. As an upgraded model of the classic P Series agricultural drone, XAG P40 is more compact, flexible, and easy to transport with four arms.
The V40 Agricultural Drone is an award-winning design that embodies XAG’s understanding of agriculture, farmers, and society. This October, XAG V40 earned Japan’s G Mark Good Design Award, one of the world’s top 4 renowned design awards, for its innovation on helping to ease the burden of farmers and protect them from agrochemicals.
Owing to its twin-rotor structure, the V40 has more concentrated wind field that contributes to an effective spray width up to 10 metres. With multiple aerodynamic optimisations, its spray penetration is over twice that of traditional multi-rotor drone, making drops penetrate more precisely into dense crop canopies. This provides stronger protection against weeds, diseases, and insect pests to close the yield gap.
Both V40 and P40 Agricultural Drone are built with highly modular design that can significantly reduce the barriers of farmers to embrace digital agriculture. They support three different task systems – XAG RevoSpray, RevoCast, and RealTerra, which allows farmers to use the same platform for collecting digital field map, sowing seeds, and controlling crop diseases.
For the first time, XAG RealTerra system enables an agricultural drone to have rapid mapping capability. After it shoots, maps, and analyses farmland images autonomously, both V40 and P40 can be rapidly switched into RevoSpray or RevoCast system to carry out variable-rate operations. Sprays can be precisely targeted on where it is needed to cut down the use of pesticides and fertilisers.
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DJI, the global leader in drone and camera technology, today expands the world’s ability to grow and nurture its food supply by making the Agras T30 and T10 agriculture drones available in over 100 additional countries. The Agras T30 and T10 were developed in partnership with farmers to make aerial precision agriculture more accessible and convenient than ever, allowing drone technology to improve their productivity and help feed a growing world.
The Agras T30 is DJI’s new flagship for digital agriculture. With a 30 liter spray tank, and a spreading system payload capacity of up to 40kg, 16 nozzles, and a spray range of 9 meters, the T30 takes aerial spraying efficiency to new heights and can cover 40 acres in an hour. A fuselage made of carbon fiber composite materials, with a one-key locking arm design helps reduce volume by 80% after folding.
The Agras T10 is a compact yet powerful solution. With a 8 liter1 spray tank and spray width of up to 5 meters, it can cover up to 15 acres an hour. Its sturdy and reliable folding truss structure enable convenient transportation and quick deployment.
The Agras T10’s compact design allows for easy transportation.
Safety Focus
The Agras T30 and T10 were built with an unwavering focus on flight safety. They feature spherical radar systems that scan surrounding areas in all environments and weather conditions regardless of dust and light conditions.
Obstacle avoidance systems and adaptive flight functions help further ensure safety during flights. Dual FPV cameras provide clear front and rear views and the searchlight doubles night vision capabilities.
Cloud-Based 3D Farming
With the Smart Agriculture Cloud Platform, users can conduct cloud-based mapping of orchard and farmland scenarios. This platform has an AI recognition system to patrol fields, identify growth, monitor disease or pests, and monitor agricultural conditions efficiently. Pairing this system with the DJI P4 Multispectral allows users to apply solutions based on specific variables according to an automatically-generated farmland prescription map.
Improved Operation
An updated remote controller for the T30 and T10 supports stable image transmission from up to 5 km away2. A 5.5-inch high-brightness screen delivers a clear view, even in harsh lighting conditions. For increased productivity, one remote controller can operate multiple drones at once.
An RTK high-precision positioning module enables centimetre-level operation planning. Additional enhancements include stronger signalling, anti-interference, and operational stability. The new DJI Agriculture app enables a smoother system experience and more intuitive operation.
A newly designed intelligent battery is covered by warranty for 1,000 charges or 1 year; this ultra-long service life significantly reduces operating costs. The smart charging hub can fully charge a battery in 10 minutes, allowing the T30 and T10 to continuously operate with just two batteries and one charger.
Designed for Long Term Service
With three layers of protection over critical components, the T30 and T10 have an IP67 rating (battery excluded), giving them the protection needed for regular use of liquid fertilizer and exposure to dust and corrosion.
Agras T30 Spreading System 3.0 can carry up to 40 kgs.
T30 Spreading System 3.0
The T30’s new spreading system has a capacity of 40 kg, a flow rate up to 50 kg per minute, a spreading width of up to 7 meters, and an hourly spreading capacity of 1 ton for urea.
It also supports real-time weight monitoring and has an anti-rotation sensor for more accurate refill alerts. When used with DJI digital agriculture solutions, the T30 can implement variable spreading, reducing fertilizer use while increasing yield.
Expanding the Agras Line
The T30 and T10 represent the latest in the storied line of Agras drones. To date in 2021, over 50,000 Agras drones have been sold worldwide. The T30 and T10 will now further build on the DJI Agras success story.
Availability
The T30 and T10 will be available in over 100 countries worldwide including in North America and Europe. For more information on when the T30 and T10 will be available in your region, contact your local dealer (https://www.dji.com/where-to-buy/agriculture-dealers). And to learn more about the product features, visit the T30 and T10 websites.
Agras T10 – https://www.dji.com/t10
Agras T30 – https://www.dji.com/t30
- The T10 can be equipped with an optional 10 liter tank in select regions. Please contact your local dealer for more details.
- 5 km under SRRC certification; 4 km under MIC/KCC/CE certification; 7 km under FCC certification.
FlyingBasket and Bayerische Staatsforsten (BaySF) joined forces in order to test the use of cargo drones for tree planting in the mountains. After FlyingBasket obtained crossborder operation authorisation by the Federal Aviation Office in Germany, the team was able to start the trial: transporting 2,000 young trees from a location in the valley of Aschau, Southern Bavaria, to 18 planting locations up in the mountains near the famous Kampenwand. The team of FlyingBasket used the FB3 cargo drone for the task. Three young BaySF talents studied different aspects of the test. Experienced forestry professionals provided guidance during the whole process. The trial was successful; all plants got transported safely and efficiently to the relevant locations.
Bernd Meier, deputy head of the BaySF training center in Laubau, Ruhpolding, was happy with the results:
“Work with the team was great. Everyone gave 100% and we had a lot of fun and learned a lot. We see big potential in the use of the technology not only for planting in steep terrain, but also to provide our people with forestry equipment, which they otherwise need to carry. Remote sensing is another interesting field with big innovation potential.”
About Bayerische Staatsforsten: State-owned company in Bavaria that manages 7,500 square kilometres of forest in Bavaria, Southern Germany, applying the high standards for sustainable forest management. Each year, the company plants 6 million young trees as part of a long-term strategy to increase diversity of forest ecosystems and increase resilience during climate change. While workers plant a large share of this in forest areas that are easy to access, a certain amount of planting also happens in steep, remote terrain. This is where the innovation team of BaySF wanted to learn more about possible benefits and limitations of using cargo drones under real forestry conditions.
About FlyingBasket: FlyingBasket is an Italian company based in the Italian Alps, which designs, produces and operates cargo drones, with up to 100kg payload capability today. The company was founded in 2015 and since its inception has become the benchmark in the commercial cargo drone industry. FlyingBasket provides training and regulatory support to its customers, enabling companies in Logistics, Energy, Telecom, Forestry to unlock the full potential of this innovative technology.
For more information on cargo drone solutions visit flyingbasket.com