Sentera, a provider of ag analytics, has announced that its ultra-high-resolution RGB sensor – the 65R – is now compatible with its PHX fixed-wing drone. This solution supports the requirement of producing digital surface models (DSMs) and imagery products for several industries, including agriculture, construction, infrastructure and environmental monitoring.
65R’s global shutter and frame rate combine to produce imagery, free from distortions produced by electronic rolling shutter cameras and with a rugged “no moving parts” design.
With 65 million pixels per frame of global shutter imagery, the 65R is a tool that is designed to produce 3D products like DSMs. DSMs have become a factor in how businesses and governments make decisions, from planning and development to natural resource management to disaster mitigation. With 65R, the DSM and the RGB imagery product can both be produced from the same dataset.
“3D models have become almost as popular with our customers as our imagery products,” said Eric Taipale, chief technology officer, Sentera. “65R is a very high quality imager, and integration of this sensor with a high-efficiency platform like PHX cuts the data acquisition time required to capture large areas by up to 50% versus comparable VTOL platforms.”
PHX is a widely used high-throughput drone platform for multispectral and thermal data production in agriculture, generating data products that enable insights like Stand Count and seed emergence, Tassel Count to identify end-of-season yields and a range of multispectral-based insights. Now, with the additional of 65R, the platform adds 3D and UHR RGB capabilities.
“PHX has established itself as a rugged, workhorse platform for agricultural users. We’re pleased to extend its capabilities to other sectors,” said Taipale. “In real-world use, the time and cost efficiency of PHX is market-leading. With 65R on PHX, these productivity benefits can go to work for many more customers.”
