The IGIS team is constantly alert to new technologies that might be beneficial to UC ANR and the public that we serve. One particularly exciting technology that has been gathering much attention recently is that of emerging unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). Recent innovations in integrating autopilots with remote sensing payloads, along with user friendly processing software, have made UAS (sometimes referred to as drones or unmanned aerial vehicles/UAV) a very promising tool for crop, rangeland and water resource monitoring. The efficiency of this monitoring could greatly improve future precision agriculture, in a previously unparalleled safe and cost-effective manner.
The American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) recently convened an impressive conference solely dedicated to UAS, which largely addressed future UAS applications in agriculture. One of the greatest take-a-ways from the conference was how close this burgeoning technology is to becoming mainstream; even for the smallest scale agriculturalist. Additionally, the Google X experimental facility has recognized the potential of UAS for agriculture and natural resources management. Representatives from Google X recently met with ANR personnel, including members of IGIS, wherein ways in which Google might play a part in the emerging UAS-for-agriculture market were discussed.
In the upcoming year IGIS will continue to monitor and explore the practicality of UAS technology for agriculture and natural resources management, and will keep you posted.