42 unmanned systems
inside
April/May 2017
WEBINAR RECAP » PRECISION AGRICULTURE
sponsored by NOVATEL
»
THE FUTURE OF FARMING
How air and ground unmanned vehicles are changing the farming industry. by Renee Knight
U
nmanned aerial and ground vehicles offer plenty of
benefits to the agriculture industry, from providing
data that tells farmers exactly where they need to
spray pesticides to reducing labor costs. But, of course,
there are still challenges to overcome before more farm-
ers can make these systems part of their daily operations.
Inside Unmanned Systems, Inside GNSS and NovAtel
recently presented a webinar that outlines these chal-
lenges and looks at how agricultural robots, driver-
less tractors and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS)
will eventually change the industry. The webinar, "The
Future of Farming: Unmanned Systems in Agriculture-
Innovations in Land and Air," featured panelists JMaj.
Gen. James Poss (Ret); Demoz Gebre-Egziabher, a faculty
member in the aerospace engineering & mechanics de-
partment at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities; Mel
Torrie, founder and CEO of Autonomous Solutions; and
Benjamin Schilling, director of sales at NovAtel.
UAS and the Ag Industry
Panel members took on UAS first, with Poss describ-
ing precision agriculture and its benef its. Instead of