Hybrid airship-drone farm robot system for crop dusting, planting, fertilizing and other field jobs

摘要

Modern farming is currently being done by powerful ground equipment or aircraft that weigh several tons and treat uniformly tens of hectares per hour. Automated farming can use small, agile, lightweight, energy-efficient automated robotic equipment that flies to do the same job, even able to farm on a plant-by-plant basis, allowing for new ways of farming. A hybrid airship-drone has both passive lift provided by a gas balloon and active lift provided by propellers. A hybrid airship-drone may be cheaper, more stable in flight, and require less maintenance than other aerial vehicles such as quadrocopters. However, hybrid airship-drones may also be larger in size and have more inertia that needs to be overcome for starting, stopping and turning.

主权项

1. A method of automated farming where one or more hybrid airship-drones, with lift provided both by a container containing a buoyant gas and by one or more propellers powered by one or more electric motors, are used to carry out farming tasks.