FAQs: UAVs, Agricultural Drones, and Monitoring Systems

Farmers use drones to help them with everything from mapping their crops to checking for damage. Agricultural drones are equipped with cameras and sensors that can capture highly accurate data about crops. This information can be used to create detailed maps of crops, assess plant health, and track the spread of pests and diseases. In Australia, some farmers use drones to plant seeds and water their crops. Agricultural drones can also be used to apply pesticides and herbicides more precisely, saving farmers time and money.

There is a lot to consider when choosing a drone for agricultural purposes. Size, price, and battery life are all important factors, but perhaps the most important consideration is the type of sensor that is best suited for your needs. For example, if you are primarily interested in mapping and surveying large fields, then a drone with a high-resolution camera is a good choice. On the other hand, if you need to spray crops with insecticide or fertilisers, then a drone with an onboard tank is a better option. Ultimately, the best drone for agriculture depends on the specific needs of the user.

Real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning is a satellite navigation technique used to enhance the precision of position data derived from satellite-based positioning systems such as GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and BeiDou. And the accuracy will be within ±10cm both vertically and horizontally. The key benefit of an aircraft using RTK is the pinpoint accuracy of the aircraft during flight. You and the aircraft know it's specific location at all times resulting in exact hovering, even during high winds

Yes, you need a license to fly a drone for commercial purposes in Australia. If you're just flying for fun, then you don't need one. You have to register your commercial drone with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), and there are some restrictions on where you can fly. If you want to fly a drone commercially, then you'll need to obtain a Remote Pilot License (RePL) from CASA. This process involves completing an accredited training course and passing a written exam. Once you have your license, you'll be able to fly drones for businesses such as photography, surveying, and inspections. In order to use drones for farming or any other industry, you need a drone operator accreditation from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA).

Rules for drones in Australia are pretty similar to those in other countries. Anyone operating a drone must do so in a safe and responsible manner, and not endanger other people or property. There are also restrictions on where drones can be flown, such as near airports or densely populated areas. In addition, drones must not be used for commercial purposes without approval from the relevant authorities. Overall, the laws on drones in Australia are designed to strike a balance between allowing people to enjoy the benefits of this technology, while also minimising the risks. As long as drone operators follow the rules, they should be able to use them for whatever purpose they bought them for without any problems.

The pre-and post-flight inspections are all part of our quality guarantee. Our technicians are qualified and trained to repair, inspect, and perform any mandatory testing to make sure the problem doesn’t happen again. We will return your drone to you in a fully functional and operational condition. You may ask our team about the results of all the inspections and testing performed.

Not really. It depends on the arrangement between you and XAG. If you’re shipping your drone from far away, it may take a while for us to receive them. Remember, although assembly will take a short time, getting the drone into our office and sending it out back to you may take longer. Additionally, if your drone has sustained significant damage in multiple areas, it may take a lot longer to fix. It also means that the average 10-minute assembly time will not apply to your case.

Yes. We provide our clients with updates via emails and phone calls. For cases where the units will need extensive repairs, we regularly update our clients by sending photos and arranging video calls with them. This is to explain to them why it may take longer than usual to finish fixing their units. This is also our opportunity to ask how the temporary replacements are performing while their drones are still in our care.

For P30 2019/2020, a single aircraft can spray up to 14 ha per hour. The XAG system provides swarm options which allows 5 aircrafts to operate at same time, which boost the efficiency to maximum 70 ha/h. For the JetSeed, the operating efficiency is around 5 ha/h (tested with 26kg rice seeds/ha at 2.5m spread width, 6m/s flight speed).

Possible cause: Spray system firmware is not up-to-date Spray system is not connected with power board properly Spray board is damaged Suggested action: Check if there is any spray system firmware update Restart the UAV and check if the spray system is online Re-install the spray system and check if there is any damage at the connection

Possible cause: The firmware of the spray system is not up-to-date The nozzle is broken Suggested action: Check if the firmware version of the spray system is 6.0.2.3 If yes, power off the UAV until the lights on the flight controller, GNSS and HDLS modules are off, then start the UAV again. If no, contact technical support to receive instruction on updating the spray system to the latest 6.0.2.3 version If the nozzle still does not spin, the motor of the nozzle is broken and it’s recommended to replace the nozzle

Possible cause: Operation APP is not up-to-date Operation APP is corrupted Battery main board is faulty Battery connector is faulty Suggested action: Ensure the Operation APP software version is up-to-date Insert a different battery to the aircraft. If the battery shows volume, proceed step 3. If the battery shows voltage, proceed step 4. Insert the first battery to a different aircraft. If the battery shows volume, the battery connector on the first aircraft might be faulty and couldn’t read the volume. If the battery still shows voltage, the main board inside the battery might be faulty, stop using this battery and contact technical. Swap test the two batteries with a different aircraft. If the batteries show volume, check the battery connector on the first aircraft. If the batteries show voltage, re-install the Operation APP and check again If the steps above can’t solve the problem, contact technician to assist

Grid Pattern (2D Mapping) , 2GSD = Approximately 30ha per hr per Aircraft Double Grid Pattern (3D Mapping), 2GSD = Approximately 15hr per hr per Aircraft Futhermore, XAG XMission are capable of swarm operations up to 5 Aircraft per operator which it can dramatically increase the efficiency and the acreage per operation by 5 times.

Possible Causes: Previously paired with another device (E.g., A3 Pilot Phone) Previously paired with another Remote controller (E.g., ACB) Remote controller is being used by XAGRI APP XGeomatics APP is not the latest version XLink firmware is not up-to-date XLink firmware is faulty XMission is bound to a different account XLink hardware is faulty Suggested Action: Open APP – XGEOMATICS, log out then re-login the account, check if there is an update page prompt out. If yes, update the APP. If not, go to interface “Device” page Check if the remote controller is online. If not, check : If ACB is turned on If hot spot is turned on If ACB is connected to another device (ensure all the other devices have their hot spot turned off) If XAGRI APP is using the ACB (press and hold the circle button at the bottom of the A3 screen to check all the APPs running at the background, slide left or right to shut them down) Check if the XMission is in the available list icon which is at the top right corner of the “Device” page. If not, check: If wrong account is logged in the XGEOMATICS APP If the right of use of this XMission is transferred to a different account Check if there is any firmware update. If yes, update the firmware and restart the XMission Remove then re-pair the XMission at the device page, then tap “In USE”. Check if the XMission is online. If still not online, then the XLINK firmware is faulty (possible cause is XMission is shutdown when XLINK firmware is still being upgraded), contact technician to manually update the XLINK firmware

Possible Causes: The aircraft is out of range Remote controller firmware is not up-to-date Remote controller is positioned in the XLINK firmware is not up-to-date Suggested Action: Ensure the UAV is flying within the visual line of sight If the XLink is disconnected when the UAV is airborne, RTH the UAV. Check if there is other remote controller turned on. If yes, turn off the other remote controller Ensure the remote controller is away from other transmitters ( E.g. Radio, walkie talkie, A3 pilot phone, other ACB or ACS) Check if there is any firmware update on XLINK and the remote controller. If yes, update the firmwares If possible, swap test with a different remote controller If the other remote controller also shows unstable connection, there could be signal interference in that field, test with a different paddock If still not, contact technician to assist with this issue

Possible cause: The camera is overheated when the wind is too strong The camera is overheated after taking photos continuously for a long time The camera is faulty Suggested action: Ensure the weather condition is okay to fly (when the condition of wind, heat is acceptable) Monitor the camera temperature during the flight; ensure the temperature is lower than 60 degrees and no “camera overheat” prompt on the screen If the field that needs to be surveyed is too big, separate the big field into small fields, ensure there are less than 1000 photos are taken in each field Do some more flight tests, if the camera still keeps showing offline when the above conditions are checked, check the quality of the photos in the SD card. If many photos show glitches then it’s most likely the camera is faulty, contact technical support to assist

Possible cause: Quick mode is turned on SD card is not compatible XLink firmware is corrupted Camera firmware is not up-to-date XMission hardware is faulty Suggested action: Ensure the quick mode is turned off (in quick mode the photos will be uploaded to cloud straight away instead of being saved in SD card) Reinstall the camera, then test fly the XMission again and check if the data transmission is normal. If the data still can’t be transferred, contact technician to troubleshoot XLink firmware and inspect the camera connection. If data transfer is stuck in the middle of the transfer, go to next step. If the data is successfully transferred, check if there is data in the SD card this time. If still not, go to step 4. Check if the camera icon in the operation page of the XGeomatics APP shows abnormal with red colour symbol. If yes, go to “Abnormal camera” in the troubleshooting guide. If no, insert the SD card in the laptop and go to step 4. Back up all the files in the SD card then format the SD card to FAT32 format (If the SD card used is not the original SD card that comes with the XMission, ensure its storage is smaller than 32GB, SD card with over 32GB storage can’t be formatted to FAT32 Insert the SD card back in the XMission, tap the “clear cache” button of the camera icon in the XGeomatics APP Test fly the XMission again and check if the data transmission is normal, if still not transfer, contact technician to help with the issue.

Possible cause: The Internet connection is not stable The size of the file is big The Internet connection with the server is not stable Suggested action: First of all, customers don’t need to subscribe the membership in the membership centre to export the data from XGeomatics APP Try exporting again when there is a better internet reception or using WIFI to download Try a different ratio if the original size of the map failed to download If still fail to download, contact technical support to assist

Possible cause: Not enough sunlight when the survey is done Not enough overlapping rate Not enough resolution Partial photos are damaged Not all the photos are uploaded Suggested action: Ensure the survey is done when the weather is good (Cloudless is the best, fully overcast is acceptable if there is still enough sunlight, partially overcast is the worst) Ensure the survey is done during the best time of the day when there is enough sunlight (10am-2pm) Ensure there is at least 70% overlapping for single grid mission, 80% overlapping for double grid mission if you need high accuracy map Lower the GSD to1.5cm/pixel or lower if you want to identify small objects Ensure the quick mode is not turned on (quick mode reduces the resolution to increase processing efficiency) Ensure all the photos in the SD card are in good quality (not many glitch or blurry photos) Ensure all the photos are transferred in the SD card (Tap the camera icon in the operation page of XGeomatics APP to see the number of photos taken, check if this number matches the name of the last photo in this field in the SD card, if not then it means some photos are stuck in the camera cache, go back to the task in the XGeomatics APP, tap “re-copy”, the photos will be transferred from camera cache to the phone and uploaded to the cloud again)

Possible cause: Some photos are faulty and couldn’t be used to stitch the map The survey is not completely finished so there are some photos missing Not all the photos are transferred into the SD card when the XMission is turned off For multispectral task, the survey is conducted when the GSD is lower than 1.0cm/pixel The number of the photos are greater than the capability of being processed by Cloud or XStation Suggested action: Ensure the percentage of survey finished is 100% in XGeomatics APP Ensure the XMission is turned off after the side lights turn red from green, also monitor the number of photos in the SD card by tapping the camera icon in the XGeomatics APP, ensure the number in the SD card is the same with the number in the camera cache Ensure all the photos in the SD card are in good quality (no glitches, enough sunlight) Ensure the GSD is greater than 1.0cm/pixel when conducting multispectral survey (There isn’t enough overlapping to stitch the map when the GSD is lower than 1.0) Ensure there are less than 350 photos taken in one field if being processed by XStation and less than 1000 photos if by XAG Cloud

Possible cause: A different account is logged into the XMission PC upload tool so the data is uploaded to a different account, therefore the original account is not authorized to view and use the map Suggested action: In wechat, search “极飞服务”, go to“我的”, “设置”， “授权并登录”, then log in to the original account that is supposed to have the field Log in XGeomatics APP with the account used in the XMission PC upload tool Go to “Data” page Tap the field that is supposed to be in the original account Tap “Share” icon at the bottom of the screen, this will automatically direct you to wechat Send the link to yourself via wechat Tap the link sent to your wechat, this will authorize permission to view the map in XGeomatics APP and XAGRI APP to the original account Alternatively, if you don’t have wechat, contact technician to assist with the issue

CM21500 XAG P-Series Rapid Charger Input: AC 90-260V 50/60Hz Output: DC 50-66V/30A Power: 900W(AC 90-176V)/1500W(AC 177-260V) Integrated Cooling Fans 2 Charger Slot (Not simultaneously) 20-25min Charge Time CM4750 XAG P-Series Charging Hub? Input: AC 90-260V 50/60Hz Output: DC 50.4V/15A x 4 Power: 750W 4 Charger Slot (Not simultaneously) 30-50min Charge Time

STEP 1 – Connect the ACB/ACS directly to your A3/Smart Device STEP 2 – Start APP “XAG AGRI” or “XGEOMATICS” STEP 3 – Tap on the ACB/ACS Icon on the corner STEP 4 – Edit the Hotspot Setting

Possible cause: The battery is locked due to over-discharged The battery is locked due to abnormal cell status Suggested action: Fully charge the battery, the battery cell will rebalance itself when the volume is over 80% Contact technical support to receive instruction on unlocking the battery If the battery is not able to be unlocked, the cell is damaged, contact technical support to assist

Possible cause: Battery cell is damaged Battery cell needs to be balanced Battery is out of lifespan Suggested action: Check how many charges cycles the battery has, the normal charge cycles is 200 however lack of maintenance can reduce the lifespan Ensure battery is charged at least once every three months, battery cell can be re-balanced automatically if the voltage level is over 4 bars, if the voltage is low the battery will stop re-balance itself If the battery showing low cell voltage hasn’t been used for a long time, ensure the battery voltage level is over 4 bars and leave the battery for two days to be re-balanced If the battery still shows low cell voltage after being re-balanced, the cell is permanently damaged, contact technical support to assist

Possible cause: Extreme hot weather Battery ventilation cover is damaged XMission battery connector is damaged Suggested action: If the XMission is airborne, RTH or land in a safe area immediately and evacuate crowd Check if there is any damage on the copper sheets of the battery. If yes, stop using this battery and contact technician to assist Check if there is any damage (melt or burnt smell) on the battery connector end of the XMission . If yes, stop using this XMission and contact technician to assist

Possible cause: The Internet connection is not stable There’s too much map cache in the APP Suggested action: Make sure the internet is turned on Make sure there is internet coverage in the area Go to “Settings” then “Clear map cache” in the APP Restart the map and the map will be re-loaded

Possible cause: The environment is too dark Terrain sensor is dirty UAV is tilted, not put on a flat ground Terrain module is faulty Suggested action: Ensure the UAV is tested when there is sufficient sunlight Wipe the terrain module, ensure there is no dirt on the sensor Ensure the UAV is put on a flat ground when checking the terrain module status If the actions above couldn’t solve the problem, contact technical support for assistance