Making Sense Of Aerial Imagery

Since its launch four years ago, agri tech company Aerobotics has been working on algorithms to improve the interpretation of aerial data. James Paterson, Andrew Sheard and Marloe van Niekerk spoke to Glenneis Kriel about the software.

- Glenneis Kriel

Today, thanks to digital precision and flexibility, it is possible to measure almost any parameters with an accuracy unimaginable a few years ago. While this promises drastic improvements in efficiency, there is a risk that businesses can become overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of new data. Agri tech company Aerobotics has sought to address this issue in the agriculture sector through developing software that allows farmers to make better sense of aerial survey data.

James Paterson, co-founder and CEO of Aerobotics, explains that the system keeps track of the health of each tree in an orchard by analysing data gathered by ordinary and multispectral cameras.

“The programme uses artificial intelligence to detect pest and disease problems by distinguishing between healthy and stressed trees. By bringing farmer validation into the loop, Aerobotics gets smarter all the time, which benefits all the growers on our platform.”

According to Paterson, the software can identify the plant-damaging disease Phytophthora solely by analysing aerial data, and he and his colleagues are refining the system to identify other threats.

GLOBAL INTEREST

The Aerobotics system has attracted great interest from investors, with the company raising over R24 million in start-up funding from various parties, including Nedbank and 4Di Capital locally, and AgFunder and AngelList in the US.

“We’re using the funding for the commercialisation of the software, both locally and overseas, as well as to continue product development to make sure we’re adding as much value as possible for farmers,” says Paterson.