Skippy Scout app for crop walking by drone

The Skippy Scout app developed by UK-based Drone AG, a farm-based business supplying drones and certified training for crop scouting, aims to provide a simple-to-use solution accessible to growers and consultants on the basis of both cost and technology.

Users select a field in an on-screen map, name it and then add details such as the crop, seed rate and sowing date, before identifying with a tap on the screen locations within the field they want photographed. With the phone then slotted into and connected to a hand-held drone control device, tapping ‘go’ launches the flight.

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Having identified a field and plotted points of interest on the screen of a mobile phone, the Skippy Scout app will pilot a small drone to take hi-res images for analysis.

Super hi-res images

The app instructs the drone to each point of interest in turn, where it hovers close to the ground to collect what Drone AG describes as super hi-res images. These are available to view immediately after the flight, with image analysis providing crop growth stage, plant population, green area index and the presence of disease.

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It also detects weeds in the crop and calculates the percentage ground cover they represent to help with spraying decisions. These data together with the image can be shared from the side of the field.

Using Skippy Scout saves time over traditional crop walking

Drone AG says using Skippy Scout with popular multi-rotor drones such as the DJI Mavic and Phantom series saves time over traditional crop walking while providing more information that can easily be shared. The app is free during the late 2018 launch and testing phase.