Hybrid drones open new opportunities for farmers
Drone spraying has been widely used in Southeast Asian countries such as China and Japan with great results. Now the trend is spreading to the US and Europe as well.
Currently, we are seeing a significant increase in the number of drones used in these countries because of their higher efficiency. Drone sprayers are equipped with the same parts as any other sprayer: a tank, a pump to push liquid through the hoses to the nozzles and a pressure gauge. But they have limitations, mostly on the size of these components, because of the power required to keep the drone sprayer in flight a reasonable time.
When referring to flight endurance, traditional spraying drones are not capable of flying more than 15 minutes for spraying works. Electric solutions make operators waste multiple hours waiting for batteries to cool down, charging and replacing them. All these logistics produce extra costs.
With +1 hour of flight time carrying 10L of liquid, HYBRiX aerial system is an innovation that makes it easier to work in a much more efficient way.
A few weeks ago due to the heavy rain, the entry of ground vehicles to the field was impossible, but thanks to HYBRiX technology farmers were able to spray all their vid fields in one day of work obtaining the expected results. This is just one of the clear benefits of drone technology.
Drones carry unique characteristics when applying liquid products. The product application is different from ground-based machines, helicopters or crop dusters. HYBRiX drone is mainly flown 2 – 10 meters above the crop with its 4 rotors creating a specific turbulence in the air that helps distribute the liquid uniformly. The 4 nozzles are positioned in such a way that they allow an excellent coverage of the applied products, reaching hidden layers of the crop.
HYBRiX Spraying solution is equipped with a 10 L liquid tank with a spray width up to 6 meters. The application rate is adaptable to the type of crop. The airframe resists rain and dust, and incorporates a high-precision positioning system to increase effectiveness.
It is still too soon to come to a conclusion on the potential of drone spraying at large scale, but they are already showing unique advantages over manned aircrafts and ground spraying equipment and their usages is expected to be increasing all over the world in the upcoming years.
About Quaternium Technologies: 
Quaternium is the leading European brand of long-endurance multirotors. Pioneers in the drone industry since 2008, the company developed the first hybrid fuel-electric UAS in the world in 2014.
HYBRiX project is supported by the European Commission through its innovation program Horizon 2020, which fosters disruptive projects in innovation, excellent science and industrial leadership.
