Load up to 200 kg… Autonomous aircraft aimed at the farm

Pyka has been approved by regulatory authorities to allow the spraying of modern agriculture, which relied solely on manpower, to be handled by a winged, autonomous electric aircraft. A flight that does something like spraying is quite dangerous. It may fly narrowly over the surface or there may be obstacles besides the ground. However, it is also suitable for automation. This is because some flight patterns are repeated several times.

If you use a drone, you can expect ease of maneuvering or take-off and landing with multiple rotating wings, but drones cannot carry large amounts of pesticides required for spraying on large farms. The aircraft made by Pica is similar to a conventional drug spraying machine, but does not have a cockpit. It has three propellers, and most of the interior space is equipped with luggage and batteries. The maximum load is 200 kg. Of course, it also has a sensor system and a computer for autonomous flight.

The Pica’s flat land takeoff distance is 50m, so there is no need to deliberately build a runway or fly long distances to its destination farmland. The troublesome thing is to change the battery, but ground personnel will take care of it. Ground personnel also determine the flight course, but the actual flight path selection and judgment is carried out by the onboard computer.

The plane, called the Egret, has a spraying capacity of 100 acres per hour, almost the same as a helicopter. However, since it is an autonomous flight, it has high precision and can fly at a lower altitude. Of course it’s safe because humans don’t do difficult manipulations. More importantly, according to Pica, it is the first in the world to be recognized for commercialization of an electric large self-sail control aircraft. Small unmanned aerial vehicles have been approved everywhere, but egret is close to the size of conventional small aircraft.

Of course there are other problems. These include air traffic control and communication with other aircraft, aircraft approval conditions and sensor capabilities, resolution capabilities, and long-distance extension. Related information can be found here .