DRONES PATROL CORDOBA SUNFLOWERS

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At first glance, it might look like the world has been invaded my tiny aliens, in their equally miniscule flying machines, but this is not the case in this instance, when a new remote controlled aircraft took to the skies on a test flight above the fields of Córdoba.

The aerial drone is equipped with a camera, enabling it to take photographs as it flies above its patrol ground, and enables scientists and farmers to monitor the quality of closely grouped plantations, such as those used for sunflowers in the fields of Western Andalucía.

Having successfully received funding from the European Union, and other scientific and agricultural bodies, the prototype is already proving a hit with those who have tested it, as the drone is capable of identifying potential viral threats before they are spread to the entire crop, allowing immediate action to control the quality of plantations.
In addition to normal photographs, the drone can also take infrared images, providing nutritional reports on the quality of plants, including how they are receiving water and nutrients, thus even monitoring potential problems with the feeding of plants before they become a potentially damaging situation.

Based on the success in Andalusia, the drones are now moving to Córdoba to carry on their testing in a different climate and environment, thus allowing the testers to prove if the findings of the data are as useful in a different area than the results already proven useful.

However, agriculture is not where the future of this technology ends. The vehicles are also conducting tests in rural engineering and building, and it is hoped that they may well be able to develop a base in archeology and history. Tests are currently being carried out on an old mill structure at Cuevas de los Medinas, currently derelict and shortly to disappear from the knowledge of those who may have the slightest glimmer of information about the historic background of the facility.

It is hoped that the drones will be able to build a complete picture of the area where the mill once thrived, resulting in the team being able to create a new virtual replica of the mill, so the history may live on in a virtual world, but none the less remembered.