Agricultural drone selection: start with the job, not the payload

Step 1

Define the job you need to repeat

Spraying, spreading, seeding and mapping are different jobs with different economics. A spraying programme is driven by tank size, flow, swath and refill distance. A spreading programme is driven by hopper size and spread rate. Mapping is driven by camera payload, RTK and processing.

Write down the primary job and the second job. If mapping is occasional, a task module on the spray aircraft may be enough. If mapping is weekly, a dedicated survey aircraft may be better.

• Primary job: spray, spread, seed or map.
• Secondary job: what you will need next season.
• Operating window: how many days the job must be finished in.
• Refill distance: how far the tank or hopper must travel.

Step 2

Match the platform to area and terrain

Area alone is not enough. A 100-hectare block with a short refill loop is different from 100 hectares split into ten small plots. Terrain decides whether a ground robot is needed for rows the aircraft cannot reach.

Step 3

Size the tank, hopper and battery plan

A larger tank only helps if the refill loop is short. Calculate hectares per tank at your application rate, then check how many refills and battery swaps fit in a working day.

Use the coverage calculator as a starting point: effective swath × speed × 0.36 gives theoretical hectares per hour; field efficiency reduces it for turns, refills and swaps.

Step 4

Check support before the specification

Training, spare parts, service response and local regulations decide whether the aircraft can work through the season. A slightly smaller platform with strong local support is often the better commercial decision.

• Who trains the operator and technician?
• Which wear parts are held locally?
• What is the warranty process and response route?
• Which registrations or spraying approvals apply?

Step 5

Run a five-step selection

The right configuration is the one that finishes the job inside the window.