Video of the Week: Using Drones to Inspect Irrigation Systems

Posted by Brian Sparks|November 10, 2023

Every few weeks, Greenhouse Grower highlights a video that shines a spotlight on the controlled-environment industry, from crop protection advice to insider views on plant production at greenhouse operations across the country. Have you recently produced a video you want us to highlight? If so, please send a link to Greenhouse Grower Senior Editor Brian Sparks at [email protected].

Corvus Drones have the ability to automatically inspect irrigation systems in greenhouses. In the video below, there is a control water bucket for each section of drip lines on the main aisle. The drone takes off from the docking station, flies over the main path, and checks each bucket. After the check, the drone returns to the docking station to upload the images and automatically charge it for the next flight.

The images are automatically analyzed in the Corvus Cloud. The grower will receive a notification within an hour if the irrigation is not functioning. This saves a lot of time and headaches in labor planning, according to Frans-Peter Dechering, CCO of Corvus Drones.

Check out the video below to see the drone in action.