Airinov, specialist in agricultural UAVs, launches the 1st national network of agricultural services by UAVs: Agridrone network.
To be discovered at the Innov-Agri show in Outarville September 2 to 4, 2014which showcases innovations in the agricultural sector. The Airinov company, created in 2010 and leader of the agricultural UAV, is taking advantage of this event to strengthen its national coverage. Three worlds will be highlighted: the Agridrone museum, the field crop services, and above all the Agridrone network, which allows farmers to become themselves actors of the agricultural UAV in their region. On this stand, visitors to the show will be able to see demonstrations of the Agridrone flight and win services every half hour.
UAV technology at the service of reasoned intensive agriculture: Airinov's vocation
For the past four years, the Airinov team has been committed to developing concrete applications of the UAV in the field. Technically, Airinov has developed a multispectral sensor to measure the reflectance of plants in certain wavelengths of light. This sensor does exactly the same thing as farmers do to determine the vitality level of their crops: it observes the colour of the plants. This allows computers to determine their exact nitrogen requirement for each square metre, so that farmers can put the right amount of nitrogen on their plot(s). Thanks to an exclusive partnership with INRA (French National Institute for Agronomic Research), Airinov has created this unique sensor and the associated interpretation models. In practice, it was necessary to optimize the flights and guarantee a rendering of the recommendation maps to the farmers in less than 96 hours. Today, with one drone and one sensor, thanks to the expertise of the Airinov teams in the field, we can cover an area of 15,000 hectares per year, where two drones would have been needed three years ago.
A relationship of trust established between Airinov and farmers
2,000 farmers have already placed their trust in Airinov and its Agridrone to control their nitrogen inputs on wheat and rapeseed. In order to take advantage of this advice, farmers now call on their cooperative, their trade or their chamber of agriculture, which is the relay for Agridrone services via the Field Crop Services. The distributor communicates to Airinov the entire plot to be followed in its sector; it is Airinov who defines the flight plans and obtains the necessary authorisations. An operator then travels to the plot in order to carry out the flight at the optimal time for the crops. Airinov then provides the recommendation in the form of a zoning of the major heterogeneities of the plot, and an average dose to be applied per zone.
At the Innov-Agri show, Airinov is emphasizing its compatibility with all brands of GPS guided spreading consoles used by operators. Indeed, Airinov provides the files of automatic modulations adapted to any equipment.
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The Agridrone network, a new step in the technological advancement of the agricultural sector
In order to achieve the forecast of 100,000 hectares flown over for the next campaign, Airinov is setting up a network of local operators based in each region: the Agridrone network.
Farmers can now invest in a UAV themselves and become an operator to carry out flights on their own farm, but also for their neighbours. In this perspective, Airinov takes care of everything: the network operator receives directly on an application on his smartphone the network of plots to be flown over. Once the flights are completed, he sends the data to Airinov, which manages the processing and return of the maps to the farmers.
The investment in an Agridrone pack (drone, sensor, training, software) pays for itself in the second year of use. For 28 000€ invested, each operator can achieve a turnover of 100 000€ in five years. This therefore becomes a source of additional income. In addition, the operators are sure to be in agreement with the regulations and Airinov guarantees up to the replacement of the UAV's wearing parts during these five years. The operators therefore only have to carry out flights in compliance with the Airinov quality charter.
About Airinov
Airinov is a company created in 2010 by two engineers, Florent Mainfroy and Corentin Chéron, and a farmer's son, Romain Faroux, which brings a solution to farmers in an economic and legislative context that is getting tougher. Based on an agronomic mapping system using UAVs, it provides a turnkey and rigorous solution to farmers and agronomists.
Key figures :
Estimated turnover 2014: 1 million euros
More than 2,000 farmers have already used the services of Airinov.
20,000 hectares were flown over by the UAV during the 2013 - 2014 season.
Website : www.airinov.fr
