E BOOK

Use of drones in
agriculture

wingtra.com
 CONTENT

Content
Advanced crop scouting in less time 2

Benefits of drones and sensors in agriculture 3

Main applications 4

Data outputs 8

How does WingtraOne benefit agricultural applications 9

 AG R I C U LT U R E

Multispectral data from drones reveals field

variability invisible to the naked eye, which
helps you catch diseases early, respond,
and improve your yields. In the image on
the right, a vegetation index is shown that
is related to chlorophyll content. Red areas

Advanced
mean lower values of chlorophyll, while blue
areas mean higher values.
Images: courtesy of MicaSense

crop scouting
in less time

Agricultural drones provide growers, service

providers, and ag researchers a fast and
efficient way to scout their crops, identify
stress, create treatment plans, track plant
growth, and much more.

Using high-resolution RGB cameras and

professional multispectral sensors, drones
like the WingtraOne can detect and
quantify crop health problems early on.
These valuable insights can reduce input
costs and boost yield.
2
 AG R I C U LT U R E

Benefits of drones
and sensors in
agriculture

Capture precise data that drives Efficiently track crops over time, for
decisions and actions research or production

Use drone data to generate prescription
maps and plans, focusing treatments
more efficiently and reducing costs. Gain
insights that complement other agro-
nomic tools. E.g., for soil / leaf sampling,
instead of randomized sampling, drone
data can direct you to the best places to
sample, saving time and money.
Track how crops are progressing from
emergence through harvest. Accurately
monitor fields for phenotyping and other
research applications. Periodic capture of
calibrated data from professional multi-
spectral sensors offers insights into crop
health regardless of illumination changes,
giving you the needed data to derive
quantitative trends.

Scout your fields in less time

Drones provide an immediate snapshot

of a field in a fraction of the time it would
take to scout on foot. Cover hundreds of
hectares in a single flight, capturing data
that helps detect and identify variability
and areas of crop stress.

3
 AG R I C U LT U R E

Main applications

Crop scouting Prescription maps and

A quality drone and multispectral camera system can detect
treatment plans
disease and stress early (sometimes before it is visible from the
Multispectral data is a key tool that, when combined with other
ground or with standard color cameras). Use this information,
established agronomic methods, enables prescription maps for
coupled with proven agronomic methods, to focus your treat-
treatments (fertilizer, herbicide), reducing costs and improving
ment plans.
efficiency.

Detecting chlorosis in a plum tree orchard. Trees in red have a lower Prescription maps can also be generated for automated seeding.
value for an index that is linked to chlorophyll content. Image: courtesy of Pix4D
Images: courtesy of MicaSense

Locating citrus trees affected with phytophthora (a fungal disease).

This multispectral image indicates areas which may be deficient in
chlorophyll (lower values in red, higher values in green).
Images: courtesy of MicaSense

4
 AG R I C U LT U R E

Irrigation monitoring and

planning
Use drone maps, digital surface models, and terrain models for
irrigation and drainage management. Multispectral data can
also help identify leaky irrigation pipes or areas that need more
water.

A digital surface model from drone data coupled with multispectral Disease caused by excess water detected using drone data. Red
and RGB data helps interpret variability in a field. trees have indications often correlated with low chlorophyll content
(and therefore stress).

Topography of fields from multispectral or RGB imagery guides Drainage tiles mapped using vegetation indices. White lines indicate
drainage and irrigation planning location of tiles.

Image: courtesy of Pix4D and MicaSense

5
 AG R I C U LT U R E

Precision phenotyping
Quickly and effectively measure and track performance in small
test plots. Calibrated data that accounts for changing lighting
conditions allows you to track trends over time.

Small plot test field for nitrogen-use efficiency in wheat. Chlorophyll Measuring the effectiveness of fungicide treatments in a barley
index shown, with red indicating lower values and blue indicating research field. The vegetation index NDVI is shown here, with higher
higher values. values (more healthy plants) shown in green.

Wheat variety trial - assessing development using height of the

canopy.

Images: courtesy of MicaSense and InnoFarm ETH Zurich

6
 AG R I C U LT U R E

Crop damage assessment and Plant counting and crop

documentation
Drone data provides critical information for measuring and
documenting damage to crops caused by floods, fire, pests,
weather events, etc. These reports can complement and rein-
force insurance claims.
emergence
High resolution cameras on drones, and plant-counting
algorithms can accurately and efficiently provide inventory
information, track crop emergence, drive replanting decisions
and help predict yield.

Flood damage assessment and documentation for insurance claim. Images: Courtesy of InnoFarm ETH Zurich

Flood damage assessment and documentation for insurance claim

Detection of lightning damage in corn field. Red area indicates severe

damage to crop.

Image: courtesy of Pix4D and MicaSense

7

Data outputs
RGB color orthomosaic
Color orthomosaic provides context for interpretation of
multispectral data.
A color orthomosaic map is often the first step in scouting.
Interpretation is intuitive and can be used to easily detect gaps
in the crop and find areas of visible stress while visualizing
maturity and growth stages.
Digital surface model (DSM)
Terrain models show changes in elevation across a field to aid in
water management and planning.
Digital surface models (DSMs) are digital representations of the
elevation of the field and crop. They can be used for irrigation
planning, water flow analysis, and crop optimization based on
slope direction.
AG R I C U LT U R E
Vegetation index maps
Multispectral data outputs in the form of vegetation index maps can
help identify problems in a field.
Vegetation indices such as normalized difference vegetation
index (NDVI), normalized difference red edge (NDRE), chloro-
phyll-based indices (“chlorophyll map”), and other indices (SAVI,
OSAVI, etc.) can be used to detect and quantify variability in the
field.
False-color band combinations
Multispectral data can also be displayed as combinations of bands,
allowing deeper insights and easier interpretation.
Multispectral data can also be visualized as combinations of
three bands, assigning a band to the red, green, and blue colors.
This visualization maintains texture and context and reveals
hidden patterns, such as the presence of weeds or water-logged
soil.
8
 AG R I C U LT U R E

How does
WingtraOne
benefit
agricultural
applications
Large fields, difficult or steep terrain,
or lack of smooth surfaces required for
take-off and landing: the WingtraOne
mapping drone can overcome all these
challenges when assessing mid- and
large-scale projects while carrying (and
protecting) high-quality cameras.

Vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) One drone, many applications High-resolution data

VTOL capability combined with forward
flight means larger coverage area than
a multicopter in areas that are not well
suited for flying a regular fixed-wing
drone.
WingtraOne is able to carry high-resolu-
tion RGB cameras (42MP) or professional
5-band multispectral cameras and
protect these sensors (and your data)
during take-off and landing, while still
providing broad coverage per flight.
To capture plant variability at a per-plant
level or empower plant counting at earlier
stages of growth, WingtraOne enables
results with resolutions down to 3.4 cm
(1.3 in) per pixel for its multispectral
payload and down to an impressive
0.7 cm (0.3 in) per pixel for its flagship
RGB camera.

9
For a quote, a live demonstration or more information
on the Wingtra products please contact us via
wingtra.com or hello@wingtra.com

Wingtra AG Giesshübelstrasse 40 hello@wingtra.com

8045 Zürich, Switzerland wingtra.com