2017 Volume 37 Issue 3 Pages 224-235
Drone-based remote sensing has a great potential for spatial diagnostics of crops and soils in the information-based agricultural management (Smart Agriculture). This paper reviews the background and advanced applications of drone-based remote sensing to smart agriculture. The necessary performance of optical and thermal sensing systems, data processing techniques, and algorithms for assessment of crop and soil variables are discussed based on case studies. Drone-based remote sensing would be useful for timely and efficient monitoring of crops, soils, weeds, diseases, etc., mainly in farms on the scale of ∼100 ha. Sophisticated systems and workflow have to be established to provide not only useful on-demand information but also sufficient cost-benefits.
