Working in partnership with Aberystwyth University’s new biosciences centre IBERS, QinetiQ has successfully completed the UK’s first flight of an autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for agricultural monitoring.

Farmers and foresters increasingly need accurate and timely information on the state on the land they occupy. For example, by mapping the fertiliser requirements of arable crops, farmers can ensure they only apply the precise amount of fertiliser required, saving them money and preventing the pollution that occurs when nitrate fertilisers are over-applied.

The QinetiQ team acted as systems integrator for the specially adapted UAV platform and flew a more than 15 flights during the ‘work up’ phase of this U-MAP programme, supported by the Welsh Assembly Government.

The UAV captured specialised video images that were used to create NDVI (normalised difference vegetation index) maps – sensitive indicators of the amount of vegetation present that can be used to determine fertiliser requirements.

Commenting, Clive Richardson, QinetiQ, said: “The UMAP project brings together emerging UAV technology with the growing need for farmers to fully understand the land they have under cultivation.

“With these recent flights we have successfully shown that UAVs are an affordable and flexible alternative to manned aircraft and satellites for the remote sensing of agricultural land.”