Drones possible NZ cropping tool

The Yamaha RMAX unmanned helicopter has been approved for commercial agricultural use in the US. The move is considered a major step in the use of drones in New Zealand. Photo / Supplied

An unmanned chopper which will be shown off in Hawke's Bay next week is set to become a major tool of trade in New Zealand cropping after getting the green light from the Federal Aviation Administration in the US and Australia.

But it is possible the Yamaha RMAX, powered by a 400cc engine, will be limited to static displays, with approval still required from New Zealand authorities.

It will, however, be one of at least two drones displayed during the 13th Landwise conference on Wednesday and Thursday.

Robert Fitch

The major conference, featuring three Australian speakers and attracting at least two others from Australia among a likely conference-record attendance of well over 100, will be held mainly at the Havelock North Function Centre.

But it will include a half-day field event at the Centre for Land and Water in Ruahapia Rd, a microfarm established near Hastings to test and demonstrate new technologies and ways of cropping and also the base of unmanned flying operators Altus UAS.

Yamaha says unmanned flight is moving deeper into the agriculture sector, as is the case with the RMAX developed for crop-dusting.

The unmanned helicopters have been in use in Japan for years, but the FAA finally gave clearance to the drones in the US late last week, according to one US report. Farmers had previously only been allowed to survey their lands with drones.

The FAA imposed 28 conditions, one being that the approval applied only to the Yamaha drone. All others will need individual approval.

The RMAX will be limited to operating at no more than 75km/h and at an altitude of no more than 330 metres. The drone pilot and another observer must maintain a line of sight with the RMAX when it is operated.

Leading Australian researcher Robert Fitch, of the Australian Centre for Field Robotics at the University of Sydney, will be among the conference speakers.

His specialty is the application of robotics to key problems in agriculture and environmental monitoring.

Other speakers from Australia will be Cheryl McCarthy, who is developing machine vision and sensing systems for agriculture and is based at the University of Southern Queensland's National Centre for Engineering in Agriculture, and Tristan Perez, Professor of Robotics at the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Queensland University of Technology.

Landwise manager Dan Bloomer said the conference was first held in 2003 and had been held each year, mainly in the Bay.

By early this week, about 110 registrations had been made, and up to 150 are expected.