Growers looking to conduct regular drone fly-bys to snap images of their crops now have the option of a fixed-wing model from Swiss firm Sensefly.

The eBee Ag joins its existing range of X-series drones and is specifically aimed at farmers and agronomists who want to cover the same route time and again to establish a bank of images to aid decision-making.

The craft, which weighs just 1.4kg and has a 116cm wingspan, can capture RGB and multispectral images using a lightweight Duet M dual-
purpose camera. These can then be used to assess crop health and spot early stages of disease or pest attacks.

See also: Air Scout thermal images show crops in a new light

Repeat missions to the same spots allow images to be compared and variations noted. This is achieved by running the drone on RTK mapping software, accurate to 2.5cm.

© Sensefly

Sensefly offers two batteries with the eBee Ag – the standard unit gives a run time of 45mins, while the “endurance” option increases it to 55mins. This should allow the drone to cover 160ha in a single flight, we’re told.  

The eBee Ag comes with a backpack for transport the drone along with two spare propellers and a pair of standard batteries. It costs €10,800 (£9,400).

© Sensefly