141drones in the City
irrigation problems to soil variation and even pest and fungal infes-
tations that are not apparent at eye level. Second, airborne cameras
can take multispectral images, capturing data from the visual as well
as the infrared spectrum, which can be combined to create a view of
the crop that highlights dierences between healthy and distressed
plants in a way that cannot be seen with the naked eye. Finally, a
drone can survey a crop every week or every day, or even every hour.
A time series animation such as this can show changes in the crop,
revealing trouble spots or opportunities for better crop management.
It is part of a trend toward increasingly data-driven agriculture. is
will also allow for the creation of a historical database, which farm-
ers might use to predict future crop yields and soil health.
e drone developed by InventWorks, Inc. and Boulder Labs, Inc.
presents a nice example.* is drone, which weighs 2kilograms (or
4.5pounds) and has a 1.8 meters (or about 6 feet) wide wingspan, car-
ries multispectral cameras that take high-resolution, geo-tagged photos
every few seconds. InventWorks and Boulder Labs claim that the deploy-
ment of their drone could potentially save 80% per acre on herbicide
costs, which would translate to nearly U.S. $10,000 in cost savings to
the average farmer per crop cycle. David Mulla, director of the Precision
Agriculture Center of the University of Minnesota, estimates that the use
of drones could save U.S. $10–$30 an acre in fertilizer and in related costs
by examining the progress of crops while they are still in the ground.
†
Agriculture could provide the ground for commercial drone applica-
tions, partly because operating in rural areas far from crowds, build-
ings, and airports alleviates privacy and safety concerns. A 2013 study
by Jenkins and Vasigh (2013) estimates that future commercial drone
markets would be largely in agriculture. Huang, omson, Homann,
Lan, and Fritz (2013) state that it will be some years before the farming
drones are successful, mainly because of the limitations in payload and
ight endurance. ey therefore think that for the next decade at least,
human-piloted aircraft and ground equipment (tractor mounted) will
still dominate and drones will only be used to inspect and treat small
sections of elds, especially those that large equipment cannot reach
(see Box 4.1).
*
http://www.inventworksinc.com/project-gallery/single-gallery/18407868.
†
http://www.startribune.com/business/269913801.html.
142 Just ordinAry robots
BOX 4.1 THE JAPANESE FARMING DRONE RMAX
Unmanned helicopters have been in use in Japan for the last
20years. In 1983, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery
asked Yamaha to start developing an unmanned aircraft for farming,
because of the aging workforce and lack of a younger generation of
successors. In 1990, Yamaha delivered the rst unmanned helicopter
for crop dusting. A massive breakthrough for the drone was the devel-
opment of the Yamaha Attitude Control System (YACS), character-
ized by its vastly improved ability to hover in a stationary position
and the fact that complete novices could y it (Sato, 2003). Today,
the most popular farming drone is the Yamaha remote-controlled
helicopter RMAX (see Figure 4.4), and it costs about U.S. $100,000.
It weighs 100 kilograms (or 220 pounds) and has a total length of
3.63 meters (or 11.9 feet) and a height of 1.08 meters (or 3.54 feet).
It has a 28kilogram (or 62 pounds) payload and two liquid sprayer
tanks that can hold 8 liters each. Liquids and granules can be dis-
persed across a 400 meter (or 0.25 mile) range from the location of
the operator, covering nearly a hectare in 6minutes. e drone allows
operators to spray weeds or crops, or to spread seed in any terrain in
a more cost-eective and accurate manner. In Japan, where rice elds
are on average about 5 acres and are often surrounded by residential
or commercial development, the drone provides a safe, ecient, and
accurate method for applying agricultural sprays (Sato, 2003).
Today, there are around 2400 RMAX drones ying in Japan,
representing a 77% market share. e number of people capable
Figure 4.4 The RMAX. (Photo courtesy of Rich Pedroncelli/Hollandse Hoogte.)
143drones in the City
of operating them has grown to about 7500 nationwide.* In
2013, the total area of farmland in Japan being sprayed by these
drones reached 2.4 million acres.
†
e drones have received much attention from other countries.
For example, the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) studies
where and how the mini helicopter might play a role in U.S. agricul-
ture.
‡
e FAA has approved Yamaha’s partnership with UC Davis
for conducting experimental ights for data collection and demonstra-
tion for agricultural uses. A test eld of this study is the Napa Valley’s
vineyards, with their relatively small plantings, adjacent development,
and often hilly terrain. e drone can go where a standard-sized heli-
copter or xed-wing aircraft could not go and, in some situations, rep-
resents less risk to the operator than a tractor-drawn spray rig. Yamaha
has exported 100 RMAXs to South Korea, and in 2013 Yamaha Sky
Division Australia introduced the RMAX by enabling franchisees
and contractors to maintain land and crops remotely. Rather than
selling such a drone, the manufacturer leases the drone to an operator
with a trained and certied pilot who ies it for farmers.
§
e RMAX has already been deployed for purposes other
than agriculture. At the end of March 2000, the 732 meter
(or 2400 foot) high, active volcano Mount Usu erupted. e
Japanese government asked Yamaha to perform surveillance of
the volcano area at Mount Usu in April 2000. It was able to
gather valuable and precise data that it would not have been pos-
sible to gather using manned aircraft. It was the rst case in the
world of successful drone operation out of the range of sight by
means of a GPS autonomous ight system (Sato, 2003).
Japan can be seen as a model for the successful use of
unmanned aircraft in agriculture. It worked well, because the
Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery commis-
sioned the technology rather than inhibiting the commercializa-
tion of drones by imposing specic regulations and an operator
licensing system to operate the drones safely.
*
http://rmax.yamaha-motor.com.au/history.
†
http://www.yamahaprecisionagriculture.com/rmax.aspx.
‡
http://news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=10623.
§
http://www.theland.com.au/news/agriculture/machinery/general-news/franchisees-
required-for-unmanned-helicopters/2668468.aspx.
144 Just ordinAry robots
4.3 Drones for Law Enforcement
4.3.1 Robocops
In 1924, in the U.S. magazine Science and Invention, a police robot is
discussed: the Radio Police Automaton (see Figures 4.5 and 4.6). is
robot has spotlights, loudspeakers, tear gas, and rotating discs that use
bullets to disperse a crowd. Radio technology allows the robot to be
steered from a police car. According to the author, this police robot
is “matchless” since it is resistant to bullets and has a strong gaso-
line engine of 20–40 horsepower (HP). is futuristic 1920s view
Figure 4.5 Cover of the American magazine Science and Invention from 1924 with an image of
the Radio Police Automaton.
145drones in the City
on police work conjures up—especially given the front cover of the
magazine—Orwellian images: inhumanly strong robots that can be
deployed to maintain public order and security.
In today’s era, police robots inevitably evoke associations with lms
such as Robocop and e Terminator. e android robots of these mov-
ies play the lead roles in epics in which evil forces are overcome. ese
spectres present Orwellian scenes in which society comes under con-
trol from omnipotent and omniscient robots. ese futuristic images
stand in stark contrast with reality. According to critical British robot
professor Noel Sharkey (2008), these specters go too far, but there are
Figure 4.6 Explanation of Radio Police Automaton by Gernsback (1924).
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