American Robotics, an industrial drone developer specializing in agricultural automation, has unveiled its flagship product, the Scout – a self-charging drone system capable of autonomously carrying out daily scouting missions.
The turnkey package includes an autonomous drone with visual and multispectral cameras and a weatherproof drone station, which handles housing, charging, data processing and data transfer.
Once the system is installed within a farmer’s field, it requires no manual intervention to plan, fly and manage operations, the company says. Health reports and analysis are then sent to the farmer. The system was already deployed in a range of agricultural locations across the U.S. this summer, says American Robotics.
American Robotics is headquartered in MassRobotics in Boston, an emerging hub for robotics start-ups.
“The technology behind Scout was developed after working with farmers and ag professionals to understand the unique logistical and economic challenges they face,” comments Reese Mozer, co-founder and CEO of American Robotics.
“I have been conducting research in robotics for nearly 28 years and have been working heavily in the area of agricultural robotics for the past six,” says Gary V. McMurray, associate director of collaborative robotics at Georgia Tech Research Institute. “The rapid expansion of drones in farming has been impressive, but I’ve also been concerned with their inability to address the amount of time and cost required by the grower to use these tools.
“American Robotics’ Scout is the only practical solution that addresses this issue,” he continues. “Farmers need a tool that works for them, not another piece of technology that consumes their day. I believe fully automated drone operation is a revolutionary approach that solves many of the real-world problems facing growers today, and I am confident Scout will scale to meet the needs of growers around the world.”
