Here is my outline for my Drones in Agriculture Workshop (90-120 min). Feel free to use any or all of it for your educational activities. I am also available to do this workshop for your group. Contact me for more information.

Old McDonald Has a Drone: UAS in Agriculture Workshop

What is a drone?
– A drone is an unmanned vehicle remotely piloted via radio control
– Also sometimes called: UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System), RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft System)

History of drones (very basic)
Reference video: https://youtu.be/VUW1UeOX_d8

Types of drones
– Fixed wing
– Single-rotor (helicopter)
– Multi-rotor
– Hybrid: Fixed wing with multi-rotors. Usually a VTOL (Vertical Take Off and Landing) configuration
– Pros and Cons comparison between platforms

Parts of a drone
– Airframe (body)
– Motors (usually electrical, brushless)
– Propellers
– Battery (Usually LiPO – Lithium Polymer)
– Control System
– ESC (Electronic Speed Controller)
– IMU (Inertial Movement Unit, gyros to help drone stabilize)
– GPS (Global Positioning System)
– Receiver (receives signal from transmitter)
– Transmitter (operated by pilot to control drone remotely)

Basic aeronautical concepts: Lift, Thrust, Drag, Gravity

How do quadcopters Fly? (video)

Examples of drone use in agriculture
– Crop scouting
– Plant stress and health via NDVI
– Mapping
– Inventory (nursery plants)
– Pesticide application (Yamaha R-Max)
– Bio control (dispersion of lady bugs to combat aphids)
– Mass calculation (manure piles, crops piles)

Sensors: NDVI, Thermal, Infrared, Near Infrared, LiDAR, Misc. (pollen, moisture, wind, pressure, etc.)

Rules, regulations and guidelines
– Recreational/Hobby (FAA Safety Guidelines)
– AMA (Academy of Model Aeronautics) Guidelines. This is where I talk about safety
– Educational (FAA interpretation)
– Commercial – Part 107
– CoA (Certificate of Authorization) – for public institutions, such as state universities
– BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) limitation and night time flight currently limit big time agriculture use and research
– Privacy concerns (a discussion)

STEAM education
– DroneSinger songs
– INTEL swarm

Flight Training
– R/C flight simulator (RealFlight)
– Manual flight: Cheerson CX-10 nano drones (indoors, and goggles for eye protection)
– Syma X5C/X5SW: lightweight, medium sized quadcopters, easier to fly than the smaller nano drones
– Autonomous programmed flight: programming Parrot Minidrones with Tickle App on iPad

Other resources
– Drone Glossary
– DroneBlocks
– “Drones in Education” book
– www.KnowBeforeYouFly.org
– eXtension UAS in Agriculture Learning Network
– DroneSinger