I know you are here to read about Apple’s drone, and we are also here to tell you about it. But there's a catch: the drone isn't made by the same company that makes iPhones and iPads. It is innovated by Tevel Aerobatics Technologies. Confused? So were we when we got word about the Apple drone. We also thought the brand Apple had launched some mixed reality devices. But it is not the truth! Let’s begin from the beginning.
The ongoing pandemic due to COVID-19 has pushed us around 100 years back. It came with a lot of difficulties, like lockdown, health issues, poverty, starvation, and mental issues. Therefore, it became tough for farmers to hire seasonal labor, especially during harvest time.
Hiring seasonal workers is challenging even if we don’t talk about the ongoing pandemic situation. It takes a lot of hard work and time. The Apple drone comes as the biggest innovation, and a savior for all the farmers working hard for the country.
What is an Apple Drone? Here is all you Need to Know
Considering this problem, Tevel Aerobatics Technologies Ltd. came up with a better idea for harvesting solutions for fruit farmers with the apple drone.
The Apple Drone
Drones are indeed the popular instrument in the coming year, and the Apple drone is the future. The Apple drone is a flying, tethered quadcopter with an outstretched arm attached that can target, grab, and pick apples from trees and drop them onto a collection device. The device can be monitored by GPS and mobile phones. Moreover, they can collect the fruits throughout the day and night, as long as the battery runs out of gas or electricity.
Vegetable farming has been automated through automatic machines and even robots, but this is the first time fruit farming has been automated. Humans usually check when the fruit is ripped and when the time to pick is, taking care not to crush or damage them. The drone is a better harvesting solution for fruit growers.
Reportedly, with the help of onboard cameras and Artificial Intelligence-based computer vision algorithms. The drones can recognize the difference between individual fruits and other objects. Moreover, they can also assess the ripeness and size of each fruit.
How Does the Drone Work?
It is a ground vehicle that slowly advances between the rows of fruit trees. Each of the FAR ( Flying Autonomous Robots) units have a wheeled base vehicle. It travels up and down the fruit trees, along with four quadcopter drones that are electrically tethered to that vehicle. These electric tethers act as the power source for the drone. The drones use an integrated gasper arm, along with special algorithms, to pick the fruit. The fruit is then dropped onto the deck of the base vehicle.
What Does the Company Say?
The company led by founder and CEO Yavin Maor and chairman Eyal Desheh says,
“The world’s population is expected to increase by 40% by 2050, which will require a doubling of fruit and other agricultural production to keep pace.” That is expected to expand the area of farmed land by 100% to 346 million acres. The decreasing number of workers will fail to half of today’s level. Unless tech steps into the void. Increased yields combined with insufficient labor will lead to 10% of all ripe fruit worldwide going unpicked, representing waste and lost income.
What’s Next?
The drone is not for commercial use yet, but maybe it will be utilized by the end of this year. According to Tevel, the plan is to rent these machines to farmers as needed at harvest time, but it can prove expensive. However, the website promotes the system as cheaper and more efficient than hiring temporary workers for the job. The website also promises to work in countries like the US, Italy, and Spain on farms larger than a hundred hectares.
Conclusion
Machines have always made human work easier. Tevel promises to lower operational costs for the farmers and improve the quality of their production. The apple drone will make it easy for farmers to pick apples from their farms with less human effort and less time. However, more about the pros and cons will be decided after it gets commercialized. Till then, we can just hope that it will be a relief for the farmers.
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