Project Details

Artificial Intelligence driven Internet of Drones for targeted weed spraying

Weeds can compete with crops to result in significant losses in crop production. This loss in Australia is estimated to be approx. $5 billion per year. To minimise this loss and to improve farming sustainability, weed management is crucial. Chemical and traditional methods of controlling weeds are costly and often result in adverse environmental impacts.

The current project aims to address ‘digital farming’ charter of the EATP (Emerging aviation technologies partnerships) Program Round-1 and is funded by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications (DITRDC). The project aims to develop a drone-mounted smart spraying system with the view to (i) detecting and mapping the weeds using AI powered image processing and (ii) developing an AI controlled targeted weed spraying system using an Internet of Drones (IoD) system. The outcome of the project will be the development of an automated targeted weed spraying system that will be cost effective and minimises adverse environmental impacts. The integration of various activities of the project, viz., drones, image processing, AI, IoT, sensors, fluid power and control technologies is expected to usher in a new era for aviation technology and its application in the agricultural sector.