Drone Ag will be offering delegates at REAP a sneak preview of its new Skippy Scout system, which will be launched commercially in 2020.
The brothers Jack and Hugh Wrangham of Drone Ag successfully raised the funds they needed to develop the software with a crowd funding campaign.
Skippy Scout is a practical smartphone application that automates crop monitoring using drones. It flies the drone autonomously, collating high-resolution photographs that are analysed using the customised AI-based software. The aim is to give farmers real-time information that they need to better target the use of pesticides.
When asked what the theme of REAP ‘One Agriculture’ means to him Jack commented: “I believe that securing a great future for agriculture in the UK is all about cooperation and data sharing.
“Many companies are bringing ground-breaking new ideas and tech to this industry, but no one company is going to solve the issues we face.
“By working together, creating fast, easily accessible data sharing platforms and standardising where possible, we can create an industry that vastly improves efficiency and sustainability.”
The company aims to bring some drones to REAP – including a new pair that have just been released, one with a thermal camera and the other with a six-sensor system – in addition to demonstrating the new Skippy Scout system.
The decision to use crowdfunding was not just about raising funds, it was also to encourage input and feedback from those that will be customers for the system. This has been a successful strategy and has resulted in some mutually beneficial collaborations. Jack says he wants to develop this further and is offering an opportunity for delegates at REAP to sign up to be the first to test out the pre-release version of Skippy Scout.
See some of the other exhibitors at REAP 2019 here.