US-D1 in Agricultural Drones for Crop Monitoring & Management

OVERVIEW

Ainstein’s US-D1 radar altimeter was specifically designed to excel in spraying drone applications, making it ideal for use on Agrodrones in the Precision Agriculture industry.  

Key Benefits of the US-D1 for Agricultural Drones:

• Ideal for terrain following (for crop spraying)

• More reliable in weather than LiDAR/laser altimeters

• Small size and weight

• Plug and play with Ardupilot and PX4

Who the US-D1 is Ideal for:

• Agrodrone Manufacturers

• Crop Spraying UAV Service Providers

• Smart Ag Drone End-Users

• Other Spraying Drone Applications

Why Use a Radar Altimeter?

• To perform high-fidelity UAV terrain-following 

• Laser altimeters are less effective over water

• GPS can’t account for varied terrain 

How the US-D1 Works on Your UAV:

• The US-D1 comes out of the box with either a Molex 4POS 2.54MM or JST_GHR-04V-S connector, which easily connects into the serial port of the UAV’s flight controller.

• Mount the radar on the underside of the UAV frame, where it has a clear field of view. 

• Change several parameters in Ardupilot or PX4 software according to the set up guides and reboot the flight controller. The sensor is ready for operation on the ag-drone. 

• Plan an automated flight over crop fields at a constant altitude of 3 m. 

• Begin the flight with surface tracking enabled and watch the automated UAS maintain accurate AGL altitude to down to the nearest centimeter, ensuring that customers’ crops are sprayed evenly.