Posted on 06/22/2015 6:52:54 PM PDT by Jan_Sobieski
FRESNO (CBS/AP) A drone large enough to carry tanks of fertilizers and pesticides has won rare approval from federal authorities to spray crops in the United States.
Steve Markofski of Yamaha Corp. U.S.A. said Tuesday that the Federal Aviation Administrations approval is a first. He says drones are already used to take pictures to help farmers identify unhealthy patches of crops, but this is the first time theyll be able to carry a payload.
Markofski says Yamahas 207-pound (94-kilogram) RMAX looks like a small helicopter and is remotely piloted. It received FAA approval Friday. Markofski says farmers in Japan and other countries have used the large drone for years.
University of California, Davis, professor Ken Giles says its best suited for precision spraying on Californias rolling vineyards and hard-to-reach places.
(Excerpt) Read more at sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com ...
Swell. So for those of us who are chemically intolerant, more chemicals!
Awesome
not!
These have been used in Japan for a while. You transport them to the field on a truck, set in the coordinates of the field, service the sprayer, and set it to work. I would imagine there is a point at which large fields make conventional ag spraying more efficient. In Japan most of the fields are small, so this makes more sense.
...what could go wrong?
WIRE detection...??
I see a lot of smoking holes.
This is a proven technology.
Nothing can go wrong... go wrong... go wrong... go wrong...
/johnny
One less pilot......
Well played.
-— its best suited for precision spraying on Californias rolling vineyards and hard-to-reach places. -—
Cool!
> Name anything that isn’t a chemical. Anything.
Intellectual property. ;-)
/johnny
Sound?
/johnny
You would think these nimrod media types would show a picture of a drone instead of farmers walking in a field. Truly bad editing.
I worked for a Chemical Distributor for years.
What’s your issue?
Ethylene Glycol?, Methyl Ethyl Ketone? Isopropanol 99? Dibutyl Ether? Methanol?
These are the tame ones.
My brother is a helicopter pilot and crop duster. Only way he’s making a living rigbt now.
Electromagnetism, gravity.... hope.
[I know what you meant, and you are correct]
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