Agricultural equipment manufacturer John Deere is interested in cargo drone Volocopter
The American machinery company, John Deere, which specializes in producing agricultural equipment, has shown interest in the recently unveiled heavy-duty drone, VoloDrone, developed by the well-known German startup, Volocopter. To recap, the cargo drone VoloDrone is based on the passenger air taxi 2X. The vehicle is equipped with 18 propellers and is capable of lifting up to 200 kg of payload into the air. This payload could be various types of cargo, secured under the body using different mechanisms such as nets, slings, or containers, as well as specialized equipment. John Deere is particularly interested in the latter application. According to New Atlas, collaborative testing between Volocopter and John Deere is scheduled for the coming months, coinciding with the start of the new growing season in the United States. Initially, the cargo drone will be equipped with a sprayer for fertilizers. It is anticipated that this equipped copter can cover up to 6 hectares of fields in an hour of flight. Additionally, due to the use of an electric motor, this solution is expected to be both more cost-effective and environmentally friendly than traditional methods. The VoloDrone will be tested both in remote-controlled mode and in autonomous flight mode along pre-defined routes. It is noted that autonomous flight, thanks to automatic GPS navigation, is generally more precise and careful in field operations. If John Deere finds the trials of the developed VoloDrone satisfactory, such devices will begin to be used regularly to assist American farmers in crop cultivation. Furthermore, the company plans to equip the VoloDrone with seeding equipment and tools for monitoring the condition of the cultivated crops. The agricultural equipment manufacturer, John Deere, has taken an interest in the cargo drone, Volocopter. The flight time of the VoloDrone on a single charge is limited to 30 minutes. However, the ability to quickly replace a depleted battery with a charged one (claimed to take no more than 5 minutes) largely mitigates this drawback.

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