PATS Indoor Drone Solutions
Certain insect populations can be quite harmful to crops. Pesticides might be a solution to this problem. However, these have an undesirable effect on environment, biodiversity and health. PATS Indoor Drone Solutions offers sustainable solutions to keep insect plaques in check:
- PATS-C: a vision systems for monitoring insects in crops, enabling early detection and tracking of harmful insect populations.
- PATS-X: a drone system for autonomously eradicating harmful flying pest insect in greenhouses.
What are the PATS solutions?
The PATS solutions are bio-inspired, autonomous drone that keeps crops insect free. It consists of a computer vision system able to detect, track and distinguish harmful pests with AI-based software. This system controls a small, bat-like drone that has the ability to quickly manoeuvre between crops and eliminate insects with high precision by mid-air collision with its propellers.
The PATS consortium
PATS and their consortium partners (a research centre and a greenhouse grower), have combined their expertise on drone technology, horticulture and crop protection in order to demonstrate the PATS solutions. Within this project the consortium showcases the outstanding performance of the drones to monitor and control pest insects in an end-user environment. These solutions should eventually result in a cost-effective, sustainable and reliable approach, and a reduced use of pesticides.
The consortium was awarded with the agROBOfood Innovation Experiment to showcase the performance of the innovations. Hezelburcht assisted in the consortium building for the project and drafting a strong grant application.
MIT and WBSO
Besides agROBOfood, PATS also successfully applied with Hezelburcht for the Dutch MIT R&D grant for the development of their systems. They also received funding for PATS-C and PATS-X with MIT Feasibility and successfully applied for the fiscal instrument WBSO.
Realising ambitions with grants
The Hezelburcht specialists supported PATS with acquiring several subsidies so that they can realise their ambitions, and with success. With the additional funding, PATS and the consortium partners are able to bring their innovation to the next level!
