Australian drone system business Rise Above has been appointed as a re-seller for Sentera NDVI solutions.
Rise Above provides drone systems to the agriculture, mining, and other industries and the deal provides access to Sentera’s agriculture drones, precision sensors, and AgVault Software.
Rise Above director Rafi Mehdi, said the agreement is a good outcome for Australian agriculture.
“Precision agriculture provides lots of benefits to farmers, from the ease of use of capturing the data, to the tangible benefits which can be seen in yield increase, and reduction in water and fertilizer usage,” he said.
“The agriculture market is huge.
“With over 135,000 farms in Australia; the Sentera NDVI sensors provide real-time data about crop health to the farmers, allowing them to work smarter, and capitalise on efficiencies to increase yields and reduce expenses.”
The company will offer a full suite of Sentera’s precision agriculture solutions including the NDVI Upgrade for the DJI Phantom 4, Phantom 3, and Inspire platforms.
Each upgrade utilises a Sentera NDVI Single Sensor which the company says is a “powerful and affordable precision agriculture tool.
Since the drone’s factory-supplied gimbaled camera is not modified, the full functionality of the DJI stock sensor is preserved.
With the Single Sensor, users can capture visual-band, near-infrared, and NDVI data simultaneously — in a single flight.
“We have just come into spring, so the timing is perfect for Sentera’s product to come into the Australian market as an affordable solution for NDVI imaging,” Mr Mehdi said.
The Sentera solution allows farmers to capture color, NIR, and NDVI data and view it in the paddock.
With drone technology adoption on the increase, it won’t be long before this sort of technology becomes a standard in the Australian Agriculture industry,” Mr Mehdi said.
Rise Above will also resell Sentera’s AgVault software and mobile app solution.
AgVault is the real-time conduit for farmers to fly a field with a drone and immediately evaluate and respond to crop health data, by reviewing a QuickTile Map while at the field’s edge and doesn’t require an internet connection.
AgVault Mobile can be used to autonomously fly a DJI drone with NDVI Upgrade, ensuring the sensor is capturing imagery with the correct overlap and elevation to paint a useful picture once the drone lands.
The AgVault flight app also allows users to plan flights that far exceed the drone’s battery life.
The feature monitors a drone’s battery life, notes the exact coordinates where it left off, and returns to the operator when a new battery is required.
Once the battery is changed, the drone automatically resumes flight and data capture exactly where it left off.
“Australian farmers have shown a tremendous interest in Sentera’s precision agriculture solutions, punctuating the value that our systems are bringing to farmers around the world,” Sentera’s Greg Emerick said.
“Having precise, actionable crop health data is key to improving response times, increasing yields, or assisting in allocating resources to focus on productive acres.
