Agriculture drone for farming purposes revealed

NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Aug 3 (TNA) -- An unmanned helicopter developed for farming purposes is revealed by a team of Thai university professor and private company. At the 15th Naresuan Agriculture Fair organized by Naresuan University, the team of innovators unveiled the flying machine that is designed to applying fertilizer and pesticides. The team leader Asst Prof Dr Pirasak Chaiprasart, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, said the helicopter helped reduce labor cost and time as well as health risks to farmers. Controlled by GPS, the drone helicopter with a 30-liter container was capable of spraying chemicals on one rai (0.4 acre) of farmland in one minute, he said. In hope for revolutionizing Thai agriculture, the team designed the drone that could be programed to operate for different types of farming and crops, he said. Farmers could customize the programs for drone to operate on different sections of their land or different parts of plantations, added Asst Prof Dr Pirasak. The prototype had passed testing and the team was confident in its effectiveness that could promote smart farming, he said. (TNA)