Technical analysis of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (drones) for agricultural applications

Constant technological developments of remote sensing techniques utilizing drones (specifically of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, UAV) are increasing spatial and temporal resolution of data available for land and crop management. However, despite the promising potential, actual implementation of UAVs continues to be quite limited. Low costs and maintenance of the vehicles are advantageous in exploring agricultural applications, however, inadequate performances are still limiting their full capability. Three main categories of unmanned aerial vehicles are determined as: fixed wing, helicopters and multicopters. The performance and applicability of such systems depend on multiple factors such as the aircraft mass, payload capacity, average dimensions, flying range, average speed, expenses, etc. The present paper proposes a technical analysis on unmanned aerial vehicles' performances in order to understand their actual applicability to agricultural operations. In order to achieve this, the technical sheets of over 250 models available on the market have been analyzed and summarized. The aim of the paper is to synthesize specific information in order to acquire a better understanding of effective applicability to the agricultural field.