A

REPORT ON SUMMER TRAINING AT

RISKNTECK SOLUTION PRIVATE LIMITED

Session: 2014-2018


Submitted to: Prof. DR. R.P Yadav Submitted by,
NAME: Saroj Gaire
I.D.:2014uec1031
Batch:EC-1

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS & COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

MALAVIYA NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, JAIPUR
(RAJASTHAN)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The opportunity given to us by RISKNTECK Solution PVT. LTD. to learn and
study about drones and their various applications over precision agriculture,
aerial mapping and disaster management will make a real difference in our
engineering aptitude knowledge and abilities.
I would like to thank all those who helped me by giving their valuable thoughts
and information without which it would have been difficult for me to this
project. I am obliged and honoured in expressing the deep sense of gratitude
to my training mentor Mr. Ratul Chandra Borah, Director, RISKNTECK Solution
PVT. LTD., HSR Layout, Bangalore, Karnataka, for his helpful guidance and
suggestion at every stage of this report.

ABSTRACT:

For years now, drone advocates have cited precision agriculture - crop
management that uses GPS and big data - as a way to increase crop yield while
resolving water and food crises. Unfortunately, drones haven’t had a
significant impact on agricultural practices, at least until recently. A lot is
happening lately on the subject of drone applications in agriculture and
precision farming. From the ability to image, recreate and analyse individual
leaves on a corn plant from 120 meters height, to getting information on the
water-holding capacity of soils to variable-rate water applications, agricultural
practices are changing due to drones delivering agricultural intelligence for
both farmers and agricultural consultants.

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 CONTENTS

Introduction…. Page - 5
Working Principle…. Page - 6-7
Classification…. Page -7-12
Drone and its history in India… Page -13 -14
Future Prediction and expectation of Drone industry in India…. Page -14-15
Drone producing companies in India…. Page - 15-17
Drone for Agriculture…. Page - 18-29
Drone control software- The Mission Planner…. Page -30-33
Conclusion…. Page - 34

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INTRODUCTION

DRONE
Drone can be defined as an aircraft without a human pilot aboard. It is a flying
which does not need manual control by a human hand. Thus, it is termed as
‘Unmanned Aerial Vehicle’. It is a smaller version of airplanes, helicopters which
increases its application in different fields. The materials present in a drone
consist: 1. Chassis – The Vertebrate of the drone which gives the drone its
shape, defines the fiber material it is made up of and the size of the drone. 2.
Microcontroller – Controlling all the operations of the drone – Flying, capturing
images, Battery measurement. Microcontroller also termed as Brain of the
drone. 3. Wires for connectivity. 4. Battery. 5. Camera – Image Capturing. 6.
Wings for flying.

Drones are controlled in two ways. Thus, they operate in two ways: 1. Remote
control by a human operator- There are transmitters and receivers attached to
both the drone as well as the remote control. They are controlled by a wireless
connection. Operating frequency of drone is taken as 2.4 GHz or 5.8 GHz
depending on the configuration used. In the newer version of the remote, LED/
LCD screen are also presently which helps the user fly the drone in long distant
even if the drone is not visible. 2. Autonomously by onboard computers. This is
an on growing mechanism for drones. Softwares are being built, such that
instead of manual control of the drone using the remote, the code written in
the software is the complete instruction for entire operation related to the
drone. From taking-off to capturing the images to landing all operation are
autonomous and are being controlled by the software used. The method of
operation that we used in this project was autonomous flying of the drone
using the Software. All of the operations to be carried out were aimed to be
autonomous. The manual flying of the drone using remote control needs a lot
of expertise which leads us to create safety measures. When software is being
used, then the user of the drone just on a single click can complete the entire
task required to be done by the drone.

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Working Principle
In this section, there is the description of the working principle of drone in a
detailed manner. Drone is an autonomous aerial vehicle. No human is present
in the vehicle at the time of its flight. Thus, we have already discussed briefly
that the drone is either controlled by using a remote or autonomously by on
board computers. So, now let us see how drones are controlled by software in
a more details. The software that we use is an Integral part of the autonomous
flight. When the software controls the drone all the operations that needs to
be performed are done by the software thus we can say the software is the
integral part of the drone.

The software firstly predetermines the path of the traversal. It calculates all
the parameters flight height, flight time, return-to-home (in case of low
battery), fail-safe(in case of GPS connection lost/ hardware failure).

This software also predetermines the area it needs to cover from which it gives
us the flight time i.e. the time that the drone will take to cover the entire area.

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From the figure in the previous page we can see that there are yellow and red
lines present in the area that the drone is going to cover. Along with that there
are the numberings; this defines the path that the drone is going to cover. The
red line is the area the drone is going to cover and yellow lines are the path the
drone is going to take in order to complete the given operation. It also gives us
the no. of images it going to take while completing the operation. After all of
the parameters are calculated and if we are satisfied with it, click on the accept
button on the bottom right to complete the given operation.

Classification of Drones:

Classification by Performance Characteristics

UAVs can be classified by a broad number of performance characteristics.
Aspects such as weight, endurance, range, speed and wing loading are
important specifications that distinguish different types of UAVs and give rise to
useful classification systems. The cost, wing span and maximum altitude are also
features which can be considered to compare and classify UAVs. Further, the
engine type and maximum power developed will also be examined and a
classification based on these parameters will also be presented. All the UAVs
considered in this report are presented in the following table which displays all
the performance characteristics mentioned above. This table can be used as a
reference to look up specific values of performance for any UAV. Classification
by performance characteristics is useful for designers, manufacturers and
potential customers because it enables these groups to match their needs with
the performance aspects of UAVs.

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Important Performance Characteristics:

1)Weight
2) Endurance and Range
3) Maximum Altitude
4) Wing Loading
5) Engine Type
6) Power/Thrust Loading

Classification by Weight

UAVs cover a wide range of weights, from micro UAVs which weigh only a few
pounds, right up to the massive Global Hawk (Tier III) which weighs over11
tonnes. The following graph shows the weights of all the UAVs considered and
it can be seen that there are only a few that weigh more than two tonnes and
the majority of UAVs are quite light. Upon examination of the subsequent
graphs four classifications are proposed to distinguish UAVs by weight.

• Firstly ‘super heavy weight’ UAVs which are those with take-off weights
of over 2 tonnes. This classification will include the X-45, Darkstar,
Predator B and Global Hawk.

• The next classification would be the ‘heavy weight’ UAV which would be
UAVs which weigh between 200 and 2000 kg. The ‘heavy weight’
classification would include all UAVs between the Outrider and the Fire
Scout.

• The third classification would be the medium weight UAV which includes
weights 50kg up to 200 kg. This includes the Raven up to the
Phoenix. Another classification is the ‘light weight’ UAVs which are
between 5 and 50 kg.

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• Finally, there is a micro UAV (MAV) classification for UAVs under 5 kg. This
included the Dragon Eye, FPASS, Pointer and SilentEyes. Many of the
other performance characteristics are related to the weight of the UAV.
For example more lift and thrust will be needed for increased weight
therefore wingspan will increase and the type of power plant chosen will
differ. The light weight UAVs use primarily electric motors while the super
heavy weights commonly use turbo jets or turbo fan engines.

Classification by Endurance and Range

Another useful classification method for UAVs is to categorize them by
endurance and range. These two parameters are usually interrelated as
obviously the longer a UAV can say airborne the larger its radius of operation is
going to be. It is important to consider range and endurance because it enables
the UAV designer to determine the type of UAV required depending upon how
far the mission objective is from the launch site. Also it determines how regularly
refuelling is required and would effect how much time can be spent with the
UAV performing its task and how much time it needs to spend grounded.

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Three classifications are proposed and these are long, medium and short
endurance/range.

• The long endurance UAVs are those that can stay airborne for 24hours or
more. The range for these UAVs are also high, starting from1500 km up to
22000 km for the Global Hawk.

• The medium endurance UAVs are those with endurance between 5and
24 hours. These include the shadow 600 up to the Predator. This is the
most common type of UAV.

• The third class is the low endurance UAV which have less that five hours
endurance. These are used for short missions such as ‘seeing over the next
hill’ which is a safer method of reconnaissance than sending troops into
unfamiliar territory.

Classification by Maximum Altitude

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The maximum operational altitude, or flight ceiling, is another performance
measure by which UAVs can be classified. This is also useful for designers or
choosing a UAV to purchase so the customer can select a UAV that meets their
altitude needs. Some UAVs in military situations are required with low visibility
to avoid being detected and destroyed by the enemy therefore high altitude is
an important requirement. Also for imaging and reconnaissance a high altitude
is required to obtain images of the maximum amount of terrain.
A low, medium and high altitude classification is proposed for dividing the UAVs
by maximum ceiling.

• Low altitude is any UAV that flies up to 1000m. These UAVs are the micro
UAVs and include the FPASS, Pointer and Dragon Eye. These UAVs don’t
have much use at this stage and are primarily experimental.

• Medium altitude is the category of UAVs with maximum altitude between
1000m and 10000m. The majority of UAVs fall into this category.

• High altitude is all UAVs that can fly over 10000m. This includes theX-45,
predator B, Darkstar and Global Hawk. There is concern that these UAVs
may interfere with commercial and military manned aircraft and high tech
collision avoidance systems are being developed and integrated into
these UAVs that fly in populated airspace.

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Classification by Engine Type

As UAVs are used for a variety of different tasks they need different engines to
complete these missions.

• Some of the different types of engines found in UAVs are Turbofans, Two
strike, Piston, Rotary, Turboprop, Push and Pull, Electric, and Propeller.
Out of these engine types the electric and the piston are the most
common engines used in the UAVs considered in this project.

• As with the majority of aeronautical applications as the weight of the
plane increases so does the size of the engine, this was found to be the
same with UAVs.

• The lighter, smaller UAVs tended to use electric motors, while the heavier,
battle ready UAV tend to use piston engines.

• Other UAV classifications that are affected by the type of engine in the
UAV are endurance and range. A properly chosen engine will increase the
endurance and range of a UAV.

Drones and Its History in India:

After the first decade of 21st century, drones began to be introduced in various
sectors of the Indian market.
Noticing this increasing use of drones by Business Organization, the DGCA
(Directorate General of Civil Aviation) organized of India banned the production
and use of drones in the year 2014.
But due to increasing demand of drones made by the market, the DGCA a
meeting in Amity University, Noida on May 16, 2016 to lay down some rules
with an aim to commercialize the use of drones in the Indian market.

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Rules laid down by DGCA:

• Every drone sold in India must have a Unique Identification Number (UIN).

• Every person flying a drone must have a permit. If you’re flying a drone
below 200 feet from ground level, you will need a permit from your local
administration. If you’re flying above 200 feet, you will need one from
the DGCA.

• You’ll need to submit an application for this permit at least 90 days before
you actually fly a drone.

Challenges of the rule laid down by DGCA:

Most of the applications although possible in the 200 ft height but it will be more
user satisfactory if the height is increased to 400 ft in case of commercial use.
Suggestions are already send regarding this to the Consortium of Unmanned
Vehicle Systems India (CUVSI) by many groups.
We need 90 days window to get a permit. 90 days is quite a long period of time
and hence the users purpose may not be solved.
It’s a bit like buying a car and not being able to drive it because of driving license,
which applied for two months ago, still isn’t here.
The entire act of regulation is approached from a security paradigm as distinct
from a commercial one. Drones of different weights offer differing levels of
security threats. Treating them the same, however, highlights the fact that the
draft guidelines are primarily aimed at restricting rather than facilitating the
use of drones.
In the entire nine page document that they proposed there is only one line,
‘privacy and protection of personnel/property/data shall be given due
importance’, that deals with these issues. There is no further clarification on
what ‘privacy’ or ‘protection of personnel/property/data’ mean.

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It is also unclear whether the guidelines would apply to government operated
drones as well as privately owned ones or only to the latter.
On the whole, it is clear that the draft guidelines have been drafted almost as an
afterthought.

Future prediction and expectation of drone industry in India

• Predictions for the drone industry vary greatly.
• India tops the list of drone importing nation with 22.5% share in world
UAV imports. Thus, there is a huge potential of development this industry
in the Indian market in the future.
• The consulting firm Deloitte predicts that total revenue from non-military
drones in 2015 will be between $200 million and $400 million —
equivalent to the price of a single midsize passenger jet.
• Longer-term forecasts are more optimistic, estimating commercial drones
could become a billion-dollar industry by the 2020s.
• Yet the restriction on flying drones beyond the visual line of sight
means further development will need much time.
• Although drones used for film, video and photography is leading the way
at present, higher uses in engineering, surveying and agriculture in the
near future could lead this industry tremendously as the experts say.
• The top five market that will be covered by the commercial market in the
near future are:

1. Industrial Inspection: 42%
2. Real Estate/ Aerial Photography: 22%
3. Agriculture: 19%
4. Insurance: 15%
5. Government: 2%

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Indian Companies that are involved in Drone Industry:

1. Skylark Drones
2. Quidich Innovation Labs
3. Airpix
4. Johnnette Technologies
5. IdeaForge
6. Drona Aviation
7. Edall Systems

Skylark Drones
Skylark Drones provides cost-effective UAV solutions in sectors like mining,
infrastructure and utilities by combining the power of Cloud-based intelligence
with system-integrated UAVs to enhance a customer’s insight about his assets.

Quidich Innovation Lab

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Founded by two talented Young India Fellows, Rahat Kulshreshtha, 27, and
Gaurav Mehta, 25, Quidich Innovation Labs has a fleet of close to 25 drones.
The startup couples cutting-edge hardware with intuitive Cloud-based
solutions to ensure the best possible output on the tables in the minimum
amount of time.

With the basic idea to futurize industrial solutions across India and speed
up survey and development efforts, Quidich operates in two verticals —
filming and industrial. Its repertoire of fixed wings and multi-rotor drones and
a suite of 12 sensors offers UAVs as a service for agriculture, road and rail
corridor survey solutions, urban infrastructure, mining, and search & rescue.
The filming vertical caters to agencies from the film industry and
documentaries from around the world.

AIRPIX

Using both multi-rotor and fixed-wing UAVs, AIRPIX provides data acquisition
and data analytics solutions, giving insights that help enterprises in the
designing, planning and project execution stages. Founders Aniket Tatipamula,
25, Neeraj Waghchaure, 25, and Shinil Shekhar, 27 are engineers
from Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute, Mumbai, who have explored the
fields of robotics and automation.

The services AIRPIX offers include topographical survey, volumetric analysis,

feature extraction for site study and planning, project monitoring, 3D model
reconstruction, crop health monitoring and yield estimation, and inspection of
critical assets.

Johnnette Technologies
Incepted by Lt Cdr (R) John Livingstone, 35, Johnnette Technologies
manufactures cutting-edge drones and robots that are 80% ‘Made in India’, the
ISO 9001:2008 certified company gains from having a mature team with more
than 20 years of combined military.
The startup offers a range of products for the unmanned systems industry:
consumer-grade Johnnette JR1 is; industrial-grade Johnnette JR3 for aerial
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mapping, land surveying and 3D imaging; and Johnnette JR5, which is designed
especially for DRDO and other research organizations. A fixed-wing UAV called
Johnnette JF2 is expected to complete its test flight soon.

IdeaForge

A driven team of tech-enthusiasts, brilliant engineers and dedicated

management runs the company: Ankit Mehta, 33, Rahul Singh, 33, Ashish Bhat,
33, and Vipul Joshi, 34. “Beginning from our days at IIT-Bombay, we were
driven by our love and craze for robotics. We were exploring the possibilities of
making a hovering platform when we independently discovered the quad-rotor
configuration in 2004. That’s how we started on our journey of developing
flying platforms,” Mehta explains.

The company has delivered several hundreds of UAV systems and has a
healthy order pipeline. But, that was not the case always. “It was very difficult
to secure funding for the company. And it continues to be a challenge even
today,” Mehta says. That said, ideaForge has received sizable angel
investments now and is in the process of securing more funds for growth.

DRONE FOR AGRICULTURE:
Agricultural drones are drones applied to farming in order to help
increase crop production and monitor crop growth. Through the use of
advanced sensors and digital imaging capabilities, farmers are able to use
these drones to help them gather a richer picture of their fields. Information
gathered from such equipment may prove useful in improving crop yields and
farm efficiency.

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Both fixed wing and rotary drones can be used for these purposes, according
to various requirements. Either of them have their own advantages and
disadvantages. Talking of the rotary drones, it has less flight time
(approximately 10-15 minutes) as its battery consumption rate is more. On the
other hand, the, fixed wing drones have much higher flying time as its battery
consumption is less. Similarly, the take-off and landing is a major headache in
fixed wing drones, while it is quite easy and precise in the rotary drones.

To see practically which type of drone is more user friendly and efficient in
agricultural purposes, we have taken two drones respectively from each of the
families and compare various real time parameters of their flight and see what
are the customisations that are need to be done to improve their performance
in the agricultural field.

So for this purpose we have chosen DJI F450 from the rotary wing family and
the Skywalker X5 from the fixed wing family.

DJI F450:
The frame is basically a DJI product. DJI is the largest drone making company
in the world headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.

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DJI F450 4-Axis Multi Rotor Multi-Copter frame arms are built from very strong
materials made of hard fibre. The PCB is made of carbon fibre having
interconnections. The total diagonal arm length is of 45 cm or 450 mm. There
are also other frames available like DJI 550, 650 etc.
This frame is quite handy for applications in the agricultural field as it is very
light (282 gm) and hence performs well with the 2200mAh Li-Po battery. Its
payload is almost 800-1200 gm which is about four times its frame weight
which pretty much satisfies almost all the purpose required on a regular
farming land.
The other components used are a microcontroller (the PIXHAWK), 4 ESCs
(Electronic Speed Controllers), 4 Brushless DC motors(1000 KV), Fr-sky Taranis
Digital Telemetry Transmitter-Receiver(Fr-sky X8R) system, one GPS module
(Ublox M8N), one Telemetry Module(915 MHz), RGB camera and the Mission
Planner Software.

Drone’s Brain- The Microcontroller:

The microcontroller takes care of all the activities performed by the drone. The
name of the microcontroller that is used is known as PIXHAWK
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microcontroller. It is a microcontroller exclusively used for extensive UAV
operations.

Specifications of PIXHAWK:

• Processor
o 32-bit ARM Cortex M4 core with FPU
o 168 Mhz/256 KB RAM/2 MB Flash
o 32-bit failsafe co-processor
• Sensors
o MPU6000 as main accel and gyro
o ST Micro 16-bit gyroscope
o ST Micro 14-bit accelerometer/compass (magnetometer)
o MEAS barometer
• Power
o Ideal diode controller with automatic failover
o Servo rail high-power (7 V) and high-current ready
o All peripheral outputs over-current protected, all inputs ESD protected
• Interfaces
o 5x UART serial ports, 1 high-power capable, 2 with HW flow control
o Spektrum DSM/DSM2/DSM-X Satellite input
o Futaba S.BUS input (output not yet implemented)
o PPM sum signal
o RSSI (PWM or voltage) input
o I2C, SPI, 2x CAN, USB
o 3.3V and 6.6V ADC inputs
• Dimensions
o Weight 38 g
o Height 15.5 mm
o Length 81.5 mm

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Pixhawk system features:

The Pixhawk flight controller is a further evolution of the PX4 flight controller
system. Pixhawk consists of a PX4-FMU controller and a PX4-IO integrated on a
single board with additional IO, Memory and other features.It is highly
optimized to provide control and automation for APM flight navigation
software with high performance and capacity. Pixhawk allows current APM and
PX4 operators to seamlessly transition to this system and lowers the barriers to
entry for new users.

The NuttX real-time operating system features high performance, flexibility,

and reliability for controlling any autonomous vehicle.A Unix/Linux-like
programming environment, integrated multithreading and autopilot functions
such as scripting of missions and flight behavior provide powerful development
capabilities.A custom PX4 driver layer ensures tight timing across all processes.

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Peripheral options include digital airspeed sensors, external multi-color LED
indicators and external compasses.Most peripherals are automatically
detected and configured.

• A very powerful 32-bit processor with an additional failsafe backup

controller and extensive memory.

STM32F427 32-bit primary microcontroller: 168 MHz, 252 MIPS, Cortex M4

core with a floating point unit. Two megabytes of Flash program memory and
256 kilobytes of RAM. STM32F103 backup failsafe 32-bit co-processor provides
for manual recovery and has its own power supply. Socket for a plug in micro
SD memory card for data logging and other uses.

• Advanced sensor profile

3 axis 16-bit ST Micro L3GD20H gyro for determining orientation. 3 axis 14-bit
accelerometer and compass for determining outside influences and compass
heading. Provision for external compass with automatic switch-over if desired.
MEAS MS5611 barometric pressure sensor for determining altitude.

There is also a built in voltage and current sensing for battery condition
determination. Connections for externally-mountable GPS units for
determining absolute position is also available.

• Extensive I/O interfaces with dedicated connectors

Fourteen PWM servo or ESC speed control outputs. Five UARTs (serial ports),
one high-power capable, 2 with HW flow control. Two CAN I/O ports (one with
internal 3.3V transceiver, one on expansion connector). Spektrum DSM / DSM2
/ DSM-X® Satellite reciever compatible input: Permits use of Spektrum RC
Transmitters.

It also has Futaba S.BUS® compatible input and output, PPM sum signal input,
RSSI (PWM or voltage) input, I2C and SPI serial ports, two 3.3 volt and one 6.6
volt Analog inputs, internal microUSB port and external microUSB port
extension.

• Comprehensive power system with redundancy and extensive protection.

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The Pixhawk is supplied with an in line power supply with voltage and current
sensor outputs and has ideal diode controller with redundant power supply
inputs and automatic fail-over. Also it has servo rail high-power (max. 10V) and
high-current (10A+) ready.

In the Pixhawk microcontroller, all peripheral outputs are over-current

protected and all inputs ESD protected. The provided external safety button
enables safe motor activation / deactivation. LED status indicators and driver
for high brightness external multicolored LED to indicate flight status. High-
power, multi-tone piezo audio indicator also informs of current flight status.
High performance UBLOX GPS plus external compass in protective case
available.

Electronic Speed Controllers:

An electronic speed control or ESC is an electronic circuit with the purpose to
vary a servo-motor's speed, its direction and possibly also to act as a dynamic
brake. It converts the PWM signal from the flight controller or radio receiver,
and drives the brushless motor by providing the appropriate level of electrical
power.

ESCs are often used on motors essentially providing an electronically-

generated three-phase electric power low voltage source of energy for the
motor. It also allows much smoother and more precise variation of motor
speed in a far more efficient manner than the mechanical type with a resistive
coil and moving arm once in common use.

Electronic Speed Controllers (ESC) are an essential component of modern

quadcopters (and all multi-rotors) that offer high power, high frequency, high
resolution 3-phase AC power to the motors in an extremely compact miniature
package. These craft depend entirely on the variable speed of the motors
driving the propellers. This wide variation and fine RPM control in motor/prop
speed gives all of the control necessary for a quadcopter (and all multi-rotors)
to fly.

Most modern ESC contain a microcontroller interpreting the input signal and
appropriately controlling the motor using a built-in program, or firmware. In
some cases it is possible to change the factory built-in firmware for an
alternate, publicly available, open source firmware. This is done generally to

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adapt the ESC to a particular application. Some ESCs are factory built with the
capability of user upgradable firmware. Others require soldering to connect a
programmer.

In DJI F450, we will be using four ESCs which will be connected to four 1000KV
brushless DC motors.

Fr-sky Taranis Digital Telemetry System:

FrSky is well known for their frequency hopping ACCST technology, that takes
advantage of the entire 2.4GHz band, resulting in excellent range and
reliability. It contains a higher quality, better contrast LCD display that is
adjustable from blue to white, and haptic vibration feedback built in. The
TARANIS mixes the power of the “OPEN TX” open-source software with an
unbelievable ergonomic case with 8 programmable switches, two twist knobs
and two easy to get to lateral 'slider' pots, and not to mention the ultra-
smooth quad bearing gimbals.

The TARANIS utilizes Voice Alerts from an internal speaker, versus just an
annoying beeper. For things like; audible Count down timers, low voltage
warnings, landing gear down warnings etc., Just about anything can be
programmed, you can even use your own voice. The SD card slot offers

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unlimited memory options and a USB port for upgrades even a headphone
jack. One of the best features of the TARANIS is its full telemetry capability, as
well as RSSI signal strength feedback, there are 3 different programmable
failsafe modes and receiver lock, so no more crashes due to selecting the
wrong model.

Features:
• RSSI alarms (warns of reception problems before it becomes an accident)
• 16 channels
• 64 mixers, 9 flight modes
• 16 custom curves with 3-17 points each, 32 logic switches
• Self-test of the transmitter antenna
• 60 Model memory (expandable via a SD card)
• Audio Speech outputs
• USB and SD card slot for unlimited memory, and firmware upgrades, sound
editing.
• Long range system capable of up to 3 times the range of current systems
• Quad bearing gimbals that are silky smooth
• State-of-the-art open source software (open TX)
• Super low latency for ultra-quick response (9ms)
• Large adjustable backlit blue to white LCD display
• Real-time data logging
• Receiver lock (program locked to aircraft)
• JR Style module bay for additional RF modules
• Processor: STM32 ARM Cortex M3 60MHz
• 2000mah battery
• Haptic Vibration Feedback Command Feature

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Specifications:
Model name: Taranis X9D
Number of Channels: up to 16
Operating Voltage Range:6-15v
Operating Current: 260mA maximum (both RF module and backlit are on)
Operating Temperature: -10~60C
Backlit LCD Screen: 212*64 Monochrome
Model Memories: 60 (expandable by SD card)
Compatibility: FrSky X series, D series and V8-II series receivers

Motors: Its selection

The selection of motors for an UAV need to be taken utmost care. Brushless
DC motors are used extensively in making small and medium UAVs. The KV
value of a motor relates to how fast it will rotate for a given voltage. The
proper selection of kV is necessary for gaining optimal thrust.

The drone weight should be typically the half of the product of the thrust
provided by a single motor and the number of motors used.

Mathematically,

Drone weight = {(Thrust provided by a single motor) x (Number of

motors)}/2

RGB Camera:
RGB stands for Red, Green and Blue respectively. This camera gets its name
RGB because it delivers the three basic colour components (red, green, and
blue) on three different wires and transmits them. Some RGB Light Sensor like
ISL29125 is used to detect the reflected light from the target object. These
sensors record the light intensity of the general red, green, and blue spectrums
of visible light while rejecting IR from light sources.

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The multispectral images integrate with specialized software applications

which output the information into meaningful data. This land telemetry, soil
and crop data allow the farmer to monitor, plan and manage the farm more
effectively saving time and money along with reducing the use of pesticides.

Benefits Of Multispectral Imaging:

Multispectral images are a very effective tool for evaluating soil productivity
and analyzing plant health. Viewing the health of soil and crops with the naked
eye is very limited and is reactionary. Multispectral sensor technology allows
the farmer to see further than the naked eye.
Data from multispectral imaging has the following benefits;

• Identify pests, disease and weeds. Optimize pesticide usage and crop
sprays through early detection.
• Provide data on soil fertility and refine fertilization by detecting nutrient
deficiencies. Help with land management and whether to take ground in
or out of production or rotate crops etc.
• Count plants and determine population or spacing issues. Estimate crop
yield.
• Measure irrigation. Control crop irrigation by identifying areas where
water stress is suspected. Make land improvements such as install
drainage systems and waterways based on multispectral data.
• View damage to crops from farm machinery and make necessary repairs
or replace problematic machinery.
• Survey fencing and farm buildings.
• Monitor livestock.

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NDVI Vegetation Index:

The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is an index of plant
“greenness” or photosynthetic activity, and is one of the most commonly used
vegetation indices. Vegetation indices are based on the observation that
different surfaces reflect different types of light differently.
Photosynthetically active vegetation, in particular, absorbs most of the red
light which hits it while reflecting much of the near infrared light. Vegetation
which is dead or stressed reflects more red light and less near infrared light.
Likewise, non-vegetated surfaces have a much more even reflectance across
the light spectrum.
By taking the ratio of red and near infrared bands from a remotely sensed
image, an index of vegetation “greenness” can be defined. The Normalized
Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is probably the most common of these
ratio indices for vegetation. NDVI is calculated on a per-pixel basis as the
normalized difference between the red and near infrared bands from an
image.

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NDVI can be calculated for any image which has a red and a near infrared
band. The biophysical interpretation of NDVI is the fraction of absorbed
photosynthetically active radiation.

NDVI Crop Management Benefits:

• Canopy coverage & density detection

• NDVI with time provides accurate growth trending
• Frost Damage Detection
• Large Scale Pest Outbreaks
• Optimizing crop rotation duration
• Ecological Benefits
• Vegetation dynamics or plant phenological changes over time
• Biomass production
• Grazing impacts or attributes related to grazing management (e.g.,
stocking rates)
• Vegetation or land cover classification
• Soil moisture

NDRE Vegetation Index:

The normalized difference red edge index (NDRE) is a metric which can be used
to analyse whether images obtained from multi-spectral image sensors contain
healthy vegetation or not. It is similar to Normalized Difference Vegetation
Index (NDVI) but uses the ratio of Near-Infrared and the edge of Red.
NDRE uses a red edge filter to view the reflectance from the canopy of the
crop. The red edge is a region in the red-NIR transition zone of vegetation
reflectance spectrum and marks the boundary between absorption by
chlorophyll in the red visible region and scattering due to leaf internal
structure in the NIR region.
This allows the grower to determine many different variables with crop
management. Understanding the levels of chlorophyll can provide the farmer
with the ability to monitor photosynthesis activity. With NDRE information the
grower can optimize harvest times based on transitions of photosynthesis
activity.

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Drone Control Software: The Mission Planner
Mission Planner is a free, open-source, community-supported application
developed by Michael Oborne for the open-source APM autopilot project. It is
a full-featured ground station application for the ArduPilot open source
autopilot project. It is compatible with Windows only. Mission Planner can be
used as a configuration utility or as a dynamic control supplement for your
autonomous vehicle.

A few features which the Mission Planner provides are-

• Load the firmware (the software) into the autopilot (APM, PX4...) that
controls your vehicle.
• Setup, configure, and tune your vehicle for optimum performance.
• Plan, save and load autonomous missions into you autopilot with simple
point-and-click way-point entry on Google or other maps.
• Download and analyse mission logs created by your autopilot.
• Interface with a PC flight simulator to create a full hardware-in-the-loop
UAV simulator.
• With appropriate telemetry hardware you can:
o Monitor your vehicle’s status while in operation.
o Record telemetry logs which contain much more information the the on-
board autopilot logs.
o View and analyse the telemetry logs.
o Operate your vehicle in FPV (first person view)

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Fixed Wing Drone: The Skywalker X5
This model offers a large amount of under canopy space. Excellent glider
performance. Very light frame made of hard foam. It can fly at an speed of 60-
70 kmph upto 40-50 minutes per full charge of 2200 mAh battery. It has very
huge payload capacity. It can carry upto 7 times its own weight.

Its length is approximately around 550mm with a Wingspan of 1180mm (fin tip
to fin tip). Only one motor having huge thrust is used and its KV rating is 1600-
1900KV. Battery rating is 2200mAh - 4000mAh. The Empty Weight of this UAV
is 323g.
The other components used are a microcontroller (the PIXHAWK), 1 ESC
(Electronic Speed Controllers), 1 Brushless DC motors(1900 KV), Fr-sky Taranis
Digital Telemetry Transmitter-Receiver(Fr-sky X8R) system, one GPS module
(Ublox M8N), one Telemetry Module(915 MHz), RGB camera, 1 rotary blade, 2
servo motors and the Mission Planner Software.

The Skywalker X5 in Precision Agriculture:

After the successful integration and synchronisation of different components

of the plane with the help of UAV control softwares like Mission Planner, the
drones are made to fly over the target agricultural land. Thus collecting various
real time data and also capturing images, which can be later overlapped with
each other to get the full view of the farm.
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The data thus collected is given to various softwares like- Airinov, Pix40 and
Micasense. These softwares anlalyse the data and on the basis of it reports are
generated which helps the farmers to take care of their farms wisely and
efficiently. Hence increasing the production of crops with minimum use of
artificial insecticides, pesticides and fertilizers.

Multirotor Drones vs Fixed Wing Drones:

Multirotor Drones Fixed Wing Drones

i. F light time is very less (approx. Flight time is comparatively more

10-15 minutes per full charge of (approx. 40 to 60 minutes per full
the battery). charge of the battery).

ii. D
istance travelled by these They can fly to a long distance in a
drones is also very less. single flight.

iii. T he payload of multirotor drones They can carry much higher load
is very less. compared to a multirotor drone.

iv. T hey need very less take-off and They need very large area; almost
landing area (approx. 2 sq. mtrs). half of the area of a football field
to take-off and land.

v. S peed of travel is quite less. Speed of travel is comparatively
more.

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Drawback of fixed wing drones and its solutions:
Drawbacks-

The major drawback is that they need very large area to land which is almost
half of the area of a football field. Moreover the surface of the fixed wing plane
which is made out of foam gets easily damaged when it lands.

The other drawback is that the plane should be held by the hand during takeoff
and give a minimum initial velocity to it. In doing so, sometimes the rotary
blades at the tail of the plane can cause cut in the fingers.

Solutions-

The solution of the first problem is to make a hybrid UAV, i.e. combine the
technology of quadcopter (multirotor drone) and the technology of fixed wing
plane to create a hybrid model. This will help the plane to take-off and land
vertically thereby reducing the area of landing to a great extent.

Another approach can be to reverse the motor spinning when the plane is
about to land thereby making it possible to land the plane at an angle of 45
degrees. It will reduce the area of landing greatly.

Protective metal gloves are nowadays available which protects the fingers
from coming in contact with the rotary blades.

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 CONCLUSION

Drone is going be the most demanding Industry in the near future. Presently, it
is required in almost all of the sectors of industry, households, agriculture fields,
sports, photography, disaster management, insurance as a helping hand. But
most Importantly, in INDIA, it will be a great boon to farmers to help them in all
the agricultural related work.
Current Specification of drone being produced in India is not up to the mark.
Thus, it is not yet been employed in the agricultural sector. DJI F450 is one of
the drone that meets the specification requirement to use the drone in the
agricultural sector. But as it is a rotary drone having very less flight time, the long
haul use of this drone has serious limitations.
Fixed wing drones like the Skywalker X5, the Skywalker X9 can solve the purpose
in the agricultural sector in the long run. Though these UAVs are not entirely
free from limitations, yet with the research going on to solve the landing
problem of such UAVs, in the coming years we will not be surprised to see these
fixed wing planes creating miraculous work in developing the agricultural sector
and various other industries.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY:

1) Mission Planner Overview — Mission Planner
documentation(ardupilot.org)
2) Multispectral Imaging Camera Drones In Farming Yield Big Benefits |
DroneZon(www.dronezon.com)
3) FrSky 2.4GHz ACCST TARANIS X9D PLUS Digital Telemetry Radio System
(Mode 1)(hobbyking.com)
4) Autopilot Hardware Options — Copter documentation(ardupilot.org).

5) Electronic Speed Controller | Erle Robotics(erlerobotics.com)

6) https://www.academia.edu/2055673/Classification_of_Unmanned_Aeri
al_Vehicles
7) https://www.geospatialworld.net/article/most-promising-drone-
startups-in- india-uavs- are-here- to-stay/

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