Smart drones, using the latest artificial intelligence technology, could radically transform how large agricultural properties are monitored, a drone industry leader has claimed.
For the first time in Australia, a futuristic docking station called a Skydio Dock has been unveiled, out of which an AI enabled drone can launch and fly missions without any human involvement - not even to position the drone at the launch site as the dock is already there.
The device, by US drone manufacturer, Skydio, can be placed in extremely remote locations, such as a farm, where a smart drone can take off by itself and send a stream of its flight to anywhere in the world that has an internet signal.
The Skydio Dock was demonstrated for the first time during the recent Sydney Dialogue summit, launching a drone from the picturesque Goat Island in Sydney Harbour, navigating itself around buildings and pylons before detecting the Harbour Bridge in the foreground.
The demonstration was conducted by Australian Australian Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) training leaders, Aviassist.
"AI enabled drones will be seen as teammates, not tools," Aviassist managing director Ross Anderson said.
"This technology could be a gamechanger for the agriculture industry where time is very much money.
"Driving from one side of a farm to another can take hours and you might only be out of your ute or vehicle for a minute or so if you're just checking some infrastructure.
"Then of course, it's a long drive back.
"The Skydio Dock would save all that.
"It's not autopilot, it's AI."
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It is claimed the Skydio Dock can fly a drone in a five-kilometre range and to within 11 centimetres of a foreign object.
An individual can monitor the drone's stream, but it's not necessary, and can be done from anywhere in the world.
Anderson says he's not surprised drones can now fly with almost no human involvement.
"Another great example is bridge and infrastructure inspections," he said.
"It's dangerous for someone to be climbing that high and even with drones being flown by someone on the ground, they're always prone to crashing as a result of human error.
"A drone that can fly itself would make less mistakes than a person and that raises the safety bar.
"Drones have been flown remotely and beyond visual line of sight for a while but this takes it to the next level."
