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New UAV payloads from Draganfly

Draganfly Inc, a manufacturer of commercial Unmanned Aerial Vehicle and Unmanned Vehicle Systems based in Vancouver, BC, announced three new specialized payload offerings, which are intended to expand agricultural research and environmental monitoring using drones.

Draganfly’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Draganfly Innovations Inc., has developed these new payload options in collaboration with research experts in agricultural and water resources fields. These new camera packages, which have now been added to Draganfly’s existing product line, are intended to increase efficiency and improve the spatial and spectral quality of actionable data collected.

The Corning microHSI hyperspectral sensor is capable of recording up to 155 user-selectable light bands, which allows researchers to narrow their focus to the specific light spectrums they want to target. This sensor is being used across various industries including precision agriculture, environmental monitoring, and oil and gas.

Draganfly now offers and supports this sensor package on the Draganflyer Commander UAV platform as well as the DJI M600 Pro.

The first of two dual-sensor packages is the 100MP Phase One Industrial iXM-100 still camera paired with the MicaSense RedEdge-MX multispectral 5-band sensor, which offers simultaneous capture of multispectral and high resolution visual imagery. These two cameras leverage a payload control system that allows for geo-referencing and automatic, simultaneous camera shutter and data logging. This dual payload is available now and supported on the DJI M600 Pro platform.

The second of the two dual-sensor packages is the 42MP Sony a7R still camera paired with the MicaSense RedEdge-MX multispectral 5-band sensor. This payload offering, like the above-mentioned dual sensor payload, also offers simultaneous capture of multispectral and high resolution visual imagery, but at a more attractive price point.

“We are excited to offer systems and equipment to researchers and government agencies looking to improve on their current data collection methods. We’re confident these payload offerings can add immense valuem,” said Cory Baker, production manager, Draganfly Innovations.

The sensor packages in these new payload offerings have been integrated with the aircraft’s autopilot, flight control system, and mission planning software to allow automatic planning, push-button flight execution, and data collection driven by the user’s resolution and data quality requirements.

These specialized payloads have been developed with agricultural and environmental research organizations in mind. University-led research programs and federal agencies that Draganfly collaborated with include the University of Saskatchewan’s Plant Phenotyping and Imaging Research Centre (P2IRC), the University of Saskatchewan’s Global Water Futures, and the Government of Canada’s Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food.