It is no secret that drones are starting to take over our fields, with these small UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) bringing a plethora of benefits in agriculture. But they can be useful for so much more than just spraying or monitoring our crops. They can also be extremely beneficial for livestock farming.
BeeFree Agro has its roots in Israel, and is an agro-tech company created by two farmers who wanted to improve the lives of free-grazing livestock ranchers worldwide. Animal monitoring and herding is a tedious, expensive, exhausting, and risky job, if you’re using human personnel to do it. But there’s a different way to go about it and that is to use a drone instead.
The BeeFree Agro system is basically an app that uses sophisticated computer vision and an AI (artificial intelligence) algorithm that allows you to make drones the eyes and ears for livestock farming. They can constantly monitor not just the animals but also water troughs, gates, and the entire infrastructure.
As explained by its developers, the app, which was nicknamed by the developers Joe, after their reliable shepherd dog, works best with the DJI Mavic Enterprise Advanced drone with smart controller. In order to use the system, you have to have the drone, download and install the app on the drone’s controller, and then select a field to analyze, to activate the drone.
From there on, Joe will take over and work autonomously, sending you accurate and detailed reports and images of the terrain and everything on it. Thanks to the AI algorithm, which is constantly learning and improving automatically, Joe can differentiate between animals, people, infrastructure, and any other elements on a certain terrain. The smart app can be on watch 24/7, regardless of the weather conditions, light, or temperatures. Joe will keep a constant eye on the livestock, identifying the whereabouts of the animals, counting them, and detecting in real-time any breaches in the fence and intruders (human or wildlife). It can also move large herds of cattle over extensive pastures.
BeeFree Agro's system comes with a user-friendly interface that allows even the most non-tech-savvy farmers to quickly learn how to use Joe.
The company’s website will offer more details on the pricing and features of the drone-based autonomous herding system. Meanwhile, you can also watch this funny video below to get a better idea of how Joe works.
Cristina’s always found writing more comfortable to do than speaking, which is why she chose print over broadcast media in college. When she’s not typing, she also loves riding non-motorized two-wheelers, going on hikes with her dog, and rocking her electric guitars. Full profile
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