Farming Drones

Most farmers already have enough to be doing without blasting away thousands on a drone and then having to upskill themselves on the technical and legal ins and outs of it all, and then piss away another few days and more money doing (what will be to them) another useless waffle course. And more damn paperwork no doubt.

I doubt any more than a handful of fringe enthusiasts would be up for that.

If this is going to become a reality, then it is likely to be a contract service offered by a specialist or by a general agricultural contractor who would see it as a worthwhile investment of time and money and having opportunity to get into a niche area of business.

Farmer gets their mountain or boggy land precision sprayed for a fee without the hassle of breaking their back with a knapsack, or bollixing around with drones and software and licences. It lets them get on with the work of actual farming. Same way that most farmers got out of doing their own silage and opted for contractors when the technology for it got to a level of scale, cost and complexity that they were neither interested in, nor had the time for.

Farmers, generally speaking, are farmers - not robotics specialists or electronic engineers.

So go away, develop a practical drone sprayer, and then offer it as a contract service. And/or sell the idea.

One technical thing I wonder about though, a 20 l sprayer will be heavy and will need an extremely powerful drone to keep it aloft. How would you prevent the significant rotor wash from dispersing the airborne spray to the point of uselessness?