RMAX

After providing precision spraying services in Japan’s rice fields for more than a decade, the Yamaha RMAX unmanned aircraft vehicle (UAV) has a new role in the fruit tree orchards of Washington state. Through Washington State University’s Center for Precision and Automated Agricultural Systems and a private precision agriculture UAV firm, Digital Harvest, a project to utilize the RMAX over cherry orchards is underway. A Digital Harvest spokesperson described the RMAX. “The Yamaha RMAX Is an unmanned 11 foot long helicopter with a load capacity of up to 61 pounds.” Here's how it works. We all know that during the last two to three weeks of a sweet cherry’s time on the tree before harvest, the skin of the cherry is very thin. When rain falls on these cherries, water is absorbed through the skin and can lead to cracking or splitting. In the past, growers either rented or leased a manned helicopter to hover over the trees and the downdraft dried up the rain. Cost… About $25,000 a month. Now, the RMAX can be used instead at a much cheaper cost. Because the RMAX offers a payload capacity of 61 pounds, the units could also be outfitted with high-resolution cameras or other sensors that would allow orchard growers to capture important tree health data.