In about four months, a group of aeronautical engineers developed the VTol Agrobee 200 drone, which sold 50 units just in Agrishow 2024, the main event in Brazil on agricultural technology.
The reason is its “outstanding” capacity regarding flight autonomy and payload volume compared to other agricultural drones. The model can fly for up to 1 hour and 20 minutes compared to no more than 25 or 30 minutes for competitors, and carry up to 200 kg of pesticides.
High performance is possible due to the use of a small flex engine, which can be fueled with ethanol, diesel or gasoline, which feeds a battery, allowing for longer flight time.
Tupã drone
The development in record time has an explanation. Engineers Alberto Pereira Filho, CEO of Agrobee Aricraft, and Marco Minerbo, managing partner of the company, have decades of achievements in the area. The most recent, before Agrobee, was the Tupã drone, which even aroused the interest of Saudi Arabia´s royal family, after being one of the five best innovations among 13 thousand exhibitors at the MEBAA 2022 fair held in Dubai.
It explains the development in record time of the VTol Agrobee family of drones for agribusiness. The propulsion technology of both models overcomes the technical dilemma between strength and weight.
“We have overcome this technological barrier as we have been working on this for six years. Our system will allow a smooth vertical takeoff and cruise flight with a high level of safety, even beyond what is required by law”, introduces Alberto.
Flexibility in agricultural operations
As a Vtol, the vehicle can take off and land vertically, and fly at low speeds, providing exceptional flexibility in agricultural operations. The company already has a ready-made model, the Agrobee 200, but we are developing two other versions. Respectively, Agrobee 100 and Agrobee 900 will have capacity for 100 and 900 litres of pesticides.
“With the Agrobee 200, we cover 380 hectares per day because it can operate practically 24 hours a day with just five-minute refuelling stops”, says Marco.
Flight Management
According to Marco, the model can carry out all operations autonomously by pre-programming the flight plan before each mission. “The tasks are performed after mapping the area which receives the application of the product. After that, the route is uploaded to Agrobee via wireless communication, and the equipment will be ready for flight”, he comments.
The models will have spraying systems recommended by cooperatives and partner rural producers to guarantee more precision and efficiency, optimizing the use of inputs and minimizing environmental impacts.
The system also uses GPS sensors, cameras and ultrasound to map the terrain and plan the flight route. Furthermore, the equipment has safety sensors that help it avoid obstacles and people.
Specifications
Flight time: 1 h 20 minSpray Operational Efficiency
Type of Crop (Considered): sugar cane, grains, coffee and others
Fuel: biodiesel (optional: Ethanol)
Flight altitude: 4m above crop
Flight speed (considered): 60 km/h (Can vary from 0 to 120 km/h)
Load – from 100 to 900 litres of chemicals
Price – US$ 300,000
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