EARTH students learn about the use of drones in agriculture

Filed Under: EARTH News
Date: July 24th, 2014

Last Friday and Saturday, the 18th and 19th of July, students and professors of EARTH University had the opportunity to learn more about the use of drones in agriculture through a talk and flight demonstration conducted by Aitec, a company that offers services primarily in the areas of satellite photogrammetry and UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles).

On Friday the 18th the talk about the different applications of drones in agriculture was given. In the photograph is professor Gustavo Agüero, one of the presenters that night.

On Friday the 18th the talk about the different applications of drones in agriculture was given. In the photograph is professor Gustavo Agüero, one of the presenters that night.

More than 90 people attended the talk offered on Friday the 18th in the auditorium of the university, and student representatives from all four years were present for the fly over of the drones on Saturday the 19th. “The students had the opportunity to learn about the technological applications in agriculture as well as learning about the planning of a flight, security measures and interacting with this type of UAV. In truth, we achieved a real moment of learning and community coexistence,” asserted Luis Pocasangre, EARTH University Research Coordinator.

The students were able to see five different UAV models, four types of airplanes and one type of hexacopter. In addition, the flights were made by two planes at an approximate speed of 50 km/h through the EARTH campus in Guácimo, and they succeeded in taking photographs every 30 meters. The idea is to have images from the 3,600 hectares of the campus in Guácimo and the 1,500 from the La Flor campus in Guanacaste. This material will serve as an input for teaching and the application of technology in agriculture.

Students of different levels participated in the activity Saturday and took a picture with one of the drones that flew over the campus.

Students of different levels participated in the activity Saturday and took a picture with one of the drones that flew over the campus.

A concrete example of how these inputs will be used is the power to visualize if the strong and constant rains have had some negative impact on the banana plantation of the university. This information, taken by means of different cameras (RGB and NIR), will then be corroborated by means of gathering information from the affected site.

“What has been done this weekend is a great initial step because EARTH has offered a first experience or introduction to the students to this cutting-edge technology. In addition, the exchange between the professors of EARTH and the engineers from the Aitec Group was very enriching, and it has generated interesting options or potential alternatives for collaborative projects in the future,” concludes visiting professor Gustavo Agüero Córdoba, who facilitated the communication between EARTH University and Aitec.

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