The future and potential of in precision agriculture applications

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation was to study in detail the use of unamanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), such as small aircrafts, unmanned helicopters, quadrocopters and powered gliders, in precision agriculture (PA) applications, like the detection of field variability, agricultural and crop management, georeferencing, mapping, aerobiological sampling and site-specific farming in order to improve and increase agricultural production and cultivar yields, to control the important environmental conditions, to reduce the detrimental effects of agricultural activities in the environment and to estimate its socioeconomic impact. In addition, a comparison based on the advantages and pitfalls of the remote sensing systems, the manned and unmanned vehicles took place. Moreover, the types, hardware components and processing software as well as the regulations and limitations of UAVs were described thoroughly. Furthermore, the current and future uses of UAVs in the PA sector were present. Finally, it was concluded that UAVs along with technological innovations could be a profitable, inexpensive, modern, accessible and functional alternative to classic remote sensing technologies.