Drones Yield Positive Results in Cuban Agriculture

A recent experience with drones in a Cuban agriculture
cooperative yielded important results, with impact on cost reduction

Luis Hernandez, who heads the Group of Automation, Robotics and Perception at the Marta Abreu Central University of Las Villas, in central Villa Clara province told PL news agency about the drone experience in the local Desembarco del Granma cooperative farm.

The small unmanned vehicle uses a conventional camera on a scheduled flight to take cartographic and topographic images at a much more available cost than those taken by satellites or other aircraft, the expert explained.

The experiment allowed receiving immediate and first-hand information after the images are processed, he said and added that the use of a multi-spectrum camera provides additional possibilities, like estimating crop yield, water-related stress in the plants and the identification of pests and diseases.

The expert group at the Central University has maintained close collaboration for years with Belgian agencies and universities, which has allowed learned about the drone technology and operate the vehicles under local conditions.

The group of specialists has achieved technology integration to build the small drones based on open source software programs, at a low cost and thus have the possibility to use them in agriculture and cartography.

Professor Hernandez made his statements at a technical seminar on Informatics, Automatics and Communications for Agriculture underway in Havana with the participation of one hundred experts.