R&D on Spray Drone Technology

Technology can change the world in ways that are unimaginable until they happen. Switching on an electric light would have been pretty wild for our medieval ancestors. Similarly, it is hard for us to imagine the arrival of all those technologies that will fundamentally change the world we are used to.

One of the newest for agriculture: sprayer drones.

Madison Dixon, Associate Director of the Agricultural Autonomy Institute at Mississippi State University…

“Our purpose is to perform research and development in all things at the intersection of agriculture and autonomous systems technologies. Top priority right now is evaluating the efficacy of applications from the splay drones as well as validating their operational metrics.”

He said that can include things like flight time and payload capacity.

“Something that’s important for any grower to know: the drones are not a replacement for conventional application methods, but they are a new tool that has a lot of benefits. Also, just be aware that regulatory changes are going to continue to happen and try to monitor those as best you can. And then, thirdly, make sure you do your research and your due diligence before investing in a spray drone so you can get the best value and return on that investment.”

Thanks to Madison Dixon and to the National Cotton Council for sharing that information.