Analysis of the practical possibilities of using unmanned aerial vehicles in agriculture

The purpose of the study is to analyze the practical possibilities of using unmanned aerial vehicles in agriculture. The review carried out in this paper contains useful information for understanding the essence and possibilities of using unmanned aerial vehicles in solving agricultural problems. The areas of application of unmanned aerial vehicles for monitoring waterlogging or drought, detecting diseases of agricultural crops, mapping soil properties, the degree of ripening, crop yields, etc. are shown. Technological aspects are considered, which include technical characteristics, spatial and temporal resolution for the measurement devices used, as well as atmospheric conditions. . The main types of unmanned aerial vehicles are identified, their characteristics are given, advantages and disadvantages are shown, the potential is revealed in terms of a gradual increase in the number of functions. In practice, three types of UAV platforms are used. Fixed-wing UAVs have an airfoil that creates the lift needed to lift off the ground, fly through the air, and reach a certain speed. Helicopters have a set of horizontally rotating blades attached to a central mast to create lift and push the craft in different directions. Multicopters are rotorcraft with multiple sets of horizontally rotating blades (4-8) capable of providing lift and control of the craft. The necessary hardware elements for solving agricultural problems are described. A comparison of the main types of digital cameras that are used in monitoring fields with plants is carried out. The main system for monitoring crops using unmanned aerial vehicles is described. The conversion of the measured data into the type of information (NDVI vegetation index) was used, which shows the characteristics of the state of plants in the controlled agricultural area. UAV imaging is still costly and there are problems with satellite imagery due to cloudiness. Progress in the development of devices is associated with a reduction in weight, an increase in payload, an increase in stability and controllability during flight.