Solar powered autonomous drone for precision agriculture

The drones, earlier centric to military applications, are now finding their ways in many civilian and commercial applications. In this context, one of the most emerging areas of drones nowadays is their involvement in agriculture. Drones are expected to play a key role in precision agriculture that

Project Title

Solar powered autonomous drone for precision agriculture

Project Area of Specialization

Electrical/Electronic Engineering

Project Summary

The drones, earlier centric to military applications, are now finding their ways in many civilian and commercial applications. In this context, one of the most emerging areas of drones nowadays is their involvement in agriculture. Drones are expected to play a key role in precision agriculture that includes monitoring crop growth and health, analyzing fields, assessing the health of livestock, and pinpointing areas in need of extra attention, such as nitrogen side-dressing or fertigation. They may also indicate patterns of damage, from weather or a mechanical application, that cannot be seen from the ground. A 15-minute drone flight over some fields can accomplish as much as three or four hours of walking through them. However, the limited onboard energy is one of the major limitations that hinder the potency of small drones. The batteries still provide insufficient flight time to cover larger fields. In the literature, the topic of energy-efficiency for small drone systems in terms of flight time has been consulted from various angles, where solar energy has been suggested as a good option to increase the UAV’s autonomy. However, for the correct implementation of the solar system in a UAV, it is necessary to identify some central parameters, important for the operation and performance of the system. In order to obtain this goal, PV conversion, power converters and electric drives need to be maximized. Therefore, the main aim of this project is to design and develop a particular construction technique that aims to increase the efficiency of the solar system onboard the drone. Furthermore, the performance of the particular drone will be evaluated for the application scenario of precision agriculture for monitoring the health of the crops. For this reason, our drone will be equipped with a multi-spectral high-definition camera to take high-resolution images of crops. The images will be then, processed to extract information that can be used to provide future decisions. Therefore, in the proposed system, crop health is monitored using the data collected from the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) mapping of spectral images. The NDVIs are computed to differentiate healthy plants from unhealthy ones. This is done by measuring the chlorophyll content in the crops. The information is further used to localize the area under stress precisely.

Project Objectives

At present, small drones (quadcopters) have batteries that could last for 20 to 30 min only, so that it is crucial to managing the battery resources efficiently in order to prolong flight time, particularly in real-time applications. Additionally, payload lifting capability with quadcopters is another concern in order to maintain a stable flight with a high payload. Mass increase of the drone (PV modules are no exception) results in shorter flight times. Additional PV energy could compensate for battery discharging and increase flight time. Compared to the same problem in road vehicles, UAVs and their models are more exposed to periodic wind blows, sun radiation fluctuation and nonlinear phenomena of thermal airflows. In this case, the integration of solar panels with UAVs has remained an uphill task.

In order to overcome the aforementioned issues, the main objectives of the proposed project are as follow:

a) we are integrating the current popular photovoltaic system into the drone power system design. It focuses on the electrical system design and the product will provide a platform for the future development of solar-powered drones. The design is to be modular for easy module up-gradation and replacement.

b) The drone will perform its task autonomously during the assigned time.

c) A prototype software flight controller will also be designed to be the interface between humans and the electrical system.

d)The drone will be equipped with a multi-spectral high-definition camera to take high-resolution images of crops.

e) The crop health is then monitored by using the data collected from the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) mapping of spectral images.

Project Implementation Method

This project can be mainly divided into two main sections which are theoretical and practical.

1) Theoretical Studies

In this project, the theoretical part includes an understanding of the following domains using the literature survey:

1. Understanding the Dynamics of drones
2. PV Systems
3. Regulations about drones
4. The communication system of the drones

2) Experimental Set-Up

1. Designing of Hardware
2. Develop a program to control the system

Benefits of the Project

The market for drones is expanding day by day from the last two decades and they have brought a significant revolution in the area of Industry, Military, Agriculture and many more.  Drones can play a vital role in any environment, helping to bring  innovative ideas  to  life  and accelerating the economic development of a country. Drones have the capability to replace not only the current practices but also have  a  potential  to introduce  and  create  new  opportunities that  were previously not possible.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

A drone-quadcopter that will be equipped with all the necessary gadgets to provide precision agriculture in an autonomous manner with enhanced flight-time.

Final Deliverable of the Project

HW/SW integrated system

Core Industry

Agriculture

Other Industries

Petroleum , Manufacturing , Transportation , Media

Core Technology

Robotics

Other Technologies

Artificial Intelligence(AI), Internet of Things (IoT)

Sustainable Development Goals

Good Health and Well-Being for People, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, Life on Land

Required Resources

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