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APIS,

The Pollinator Drone.Anthony Van der Pluijm, Aleksandar Petrov

Delft University of TechnologyFaculty of Aerospace Engineering

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Who are we?

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Our supervisors

PhD Student,Aerospace and Air

Transport Operations

PhD Student,Aerodynamics

ViswanathDhanisetty

AlbertoRius

ChristopheDe Wagter

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A micro air vehicle (MAV) is needed to ensurethat the pollination process is performed for theplant species where the natural mechanisms areinsufficient, endangered or ineffective.

Mission statement

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Market opportunities

• Market share

• High cost of manual pollination: € 20,000/season/haEstimated cost with 9.20 €/h, 2 secs per flower, 48 000 flowers/ha, pollinating every 3 days for a season of 35 weeks

• Need for health monitoring and yield prediction

Crop Quantity in 2016 [ha] Current selling price [€/kg]

Tomato 1,670 2.78

Pepper 1,220 2.99

Cucumber 510 2.40

Strawberry 320 5.73

Eggplant 120 3.16Source : Rabobank Cijfers & Trends, Glasgroenteteelt,

AH selling prices

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Challenges

1. Miniaturization

Source: Aerix drones

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Challenges

1. Miniaturization

2. Autonomy

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Challenges

1. Miniaturization

2. Autonomy

3. Computer vision

Source: http://www.asctec.de/en/ethz-drones-with-a-sense-of-direction/

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Challenges

1. Miniaturization

2. Autonomy

3. Computer vision

4. Computational power

Source : https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/drones/falcon-8-drone-overview.html

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Challenges

1. Miniaturization

2. Autonomy

3. Computer vision

4. Computational power

5. Battery technology

Source : https://www.h3dynamics.com/products/hywings/

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How did we tackle all these challenges?

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We started from here…

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The Autonomous Pollination and

Imaging System

Characteristics:1. Pollination method: Blower2. Weight: 250 grams3. Size : 30 cm × 30 cm

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The Autonomous Pollination and

Imaging SystemThe blower

Blower airflow simulation

50 cm

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The Autonomous Pollination and

Imaging System

Miniaturization

How does APIS address the technical challenges?

Parrot AR drone Mass: 465 gramsDimensions : 50 cm × 50 cmSource: https://www.parrot.com/us/drones/parrot-ardrone-20-elite-editionSource: Applied Drone Innovations, http://www.adinnovations.nl

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The Autonomous Pollination and

Imaging System

Autonomy

How does APIS address the technical challenges?

Ground station plans

the path of the MAV

Stereo-pair used

for obstacle avoidance

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The Autonomous Pollination and

Imaging System

Computer vision:

How does APIS address the technical challenges?

Disparity maps

for depth

perception

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The Autonomous Pollination and

Imaging System

Computational power

How does APIS address the technical challenges?

Snapdragon 801

Used in HTC One, LG G3and Samsung S5

10x more powerful every 10 years

Source: http://gizmodo.com/qualcomms-snapdragon-801-is-2014s-must-have-mobile-ch-1529553545

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The Autonomous Pollination and

Imaging System

Battery technology

How does APIS address the technical challenges?

Li-Po graphene battery

Better cycle life compared to other Li-Po

900+ cycles

Source: https://hobbyking.com/en_us/graphene-1500mah-4s-45c-w-xt60.html

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Future expectations

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1. Investigate blower further to

pollinate other self-pollinating

types of crops

2. Investigate modularity of

payload to accommodate

cross-pollinating crops.

3. Reduce cost to compete

with other pollination methods

Future of pollinating drones

Source: https://3c1703fe8d.site.internapcdn.net/newman/gfx/news/hires/2017/stickygelstu.jpg

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Personal attention to each plant (one to one interaction)

1. Weed control and nutrient supplementing

2. Tracking plant growth for yield prediction

3. Health monitoring

Future of drones in agriculture

Source: http://ahri.uwa.edu.au/hand-weeding-wild-radish

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Symposium on 6th of July 2017 @ TU Delft

Detailed technical report published soon

Final comments