How CBH is Using Autonomous Drones in Agriculture to Reduce Grain Damage in Australia

The CBH Group is Australia’s largest cooperative and a leader in the grain industry, with operations spanning the entire value chain—from fertilizers to grain storage, handling, transport, marketing, and processing. As a key player in Australia's agricultural economy, CBH operates up to 130 regional grain terminals across the Wheatbelt region, where grains are stored post-harvest.

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The CBH team has been closely working with Sensorem, a leading drone solutions provider in Perth, Australia to solve the problem of birds damaging tarps that cover grain stockpiles, especially during harvest. Now a part of the Aerodyne group, Sensorem offers cutting-edge drone and remote sensing technologies across multiple sectors, including utilities, agriculture, critical infrastructure, and of course one of the largest markets in Australia, mining. The company won the AUS Award 2024 for the innovations and operations category. 

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Together with FlytBase and Sensorem, CBH is securing its grain sites and demonstrating the versatility of autonomous drones in agriculture. Check out the full webinar in the Dock ‘n’ Roll series.

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Why Traditional Grain Monitoring Falls Short

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Birds damaging tarps covering grain stockpiles during harvest is a significant issue Birds chew through the tarps, accessing the grain beneath and causing substantial damage and loss. Regular and effective grain monitoring, in such an industry, is much needed.

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Traditional grain monitoring methods often fall short due to multiple reasons, including their tedious and time-consuming nature. For companies like CBH, manual inspections require additional human resources which is not scalable. Besides this, data gaps and delays are persistent challenges that cannot be addressed without efficient solutions. 

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To address this problem, CBH experimented by using drones with speakers that play pre-programmed sounds to deter birds from the grain stockpiles. Initially, the drones were operated manually by pilots to test the effectiveness of this approach.

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However, manual drone operations required on-ground personnel to be on-site constantly monitoring which was not efficient. 

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Sensorem’s Drone Dock Deployment Approach

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With the introduction of docks, Sensorem saw an opportunity to enhance CBH’s operations. The drone-in-a-box solution, capable of autonomous operations without on-site personnel, promised more efficient bird deterrence and improved overall operational speed. Bird-proofing using docked drones in agriculture protects the grain sites. 

Here’s how Sensorem carried out this deployment with FlytBase’s support:

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1. Acquiring the Right Hardware for the Operation

For this bird deterrent operation, Sensorem deployed the DJI M30T drone paired with the DJI Dock 1, enabling Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations from a remote control center. The drone's top-mounted speakers effectively scared birds away from the grain stockpiles, directing them to nearby bushland.

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2. Setting Up the Communications Cabinet

While purchasing a drone and dock is straightforward, operating BVLOS requires additional equipment. Sensorem's mechanical and mechatronics team designed a robust, semi-permanent communications cabinet that could be moved as needed. This cabinet transmitted real-time data to the remote operations center, ensuring seamless communication.

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Key to BVLOS operations was ensuring a stable power supply and internet connectivity for both the drone-in-a-box and the communications cabinet. With the latest release of Starlink and other technologies, Sensorem was well-equipped for BVLOS operations.

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3. Selecting the Right Flight Management Software

The right software was crucial for repeatable, precise flight planning, flight safety, real-time data monitoring, and provision for manual intervention when needed. Sensorem selected FlytBase software for its integration capabilities and support for multi-drone operations.

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Using the FlytBase mission planner, Sensorem was able to perform flight missions to the annotated locations during the regular feeding times. Pilots leveraged the manual control and joystick functionality to ensure precise operations. 

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4. Securing BVLOS Approvals

One of the major challenges was obtaining approval from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) for BVLOS operations. This process included inspecting the Remote Operations Center, preparing a BVLOS safety case, and producing a Specific Operations Risk Assessment (SORA). Sensorem also ensured that their pilots underwent the necessary training and examinations.

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How FlytBase Automates Drones for Agricultural Use

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When it comes to automating docked drone operations, FlytBase’s platform offers a range of solutions tailored to each industry. To expedite the use of drones in agriculture, FlytBase’s solutions include data collection, real-time video streaming, 24/7 autonomous operations, speaker and spotlight systems, and more in one single dashboard.

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“The thing that impressed me about the software and the way it works is just how quickly it can go from putting a flight plan to launching the drone. I love the way that you still have the situational awareness of the map up in the top right-hand corner. In addition to the one-to-many operations, it's important that flight management software, in this case FlytBase, allows for other software integration. So we're pleased to see what FlytBase is doing in this space.”  

   - Ed Boxall, Sensorem

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Benefits of Using Docked Drones in Agriculture

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1. Improved Efficiency in Inspection Rounds

FlytBase enabled Sensorem’s team to schedule and execute automated drone inspection rounds along pre-established routes making it easy to deploy the drone within a minute to the site, identify birds, and scare them away. The team could also perform site security inspections using the software. 

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The remote control of the drone's camera payload allowed for efficient zooming to detect and identify the bird. ‍Compared to manual inspections, FlytBase resulted in faster flight missions and more efficiency, reducing the time and effort required for grain monitoring in expansive areas like the CBH grain site.

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2. Better Control and Decision-Making with Manual Intervention

There were occasions when manual intervention or control was necessary, particularly during security alerts or notifications while the drone was on its planned mission. In such scenarios, the FlytBase software allowed operators to directly maneuver the drone to the specific location, enabling them to investigate the issue and report back to the operations center in real-time.‍

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For the bird deterrent use case, it was crucial to identify the bird species, as Australia has strict regulations protecting the Black Cockatoo, which occasionally appears at grain sites during grain monitoring operations. In these instances, the camera payload provided high-quality imagery, allowing the remote pilot to make informed decisions.

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3. Better Result in Bird Deterrence with Speaker Payload Integration

The speaker integration feature was particularly effective in this scenario, as drones alone were not enough to scare the birds away. However, with the speaker and the ability to add custom announcements through the software, the birds were easily deterred from the grain site, preventing them from damaging the tarps and spoiling the grain.

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Additionally, FlytBase includes a quick announcement feature for making urgent announcements when needed.

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4. Better Situational Awareness of Flight Operations

During BVLOS operations, understanding real-time situations and making informed decisions is crucial. The software provided valuable insights into the drone's location, its position relative to the dock, and the flight path. Additionally, it delivered a live feed with minimal latency, enabling Sensorem to make critical decisions during their missions.

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While on-site pilots typically have a good sense of the weather, remote operations required the docking station's weather prediction capabilities to be communicated to the operations center. This is where the FlytBase software enhanced weather awareness by predicting wind strength at various altitudes.

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The Way Ahead

Agriculture is a crucial component of Australia’s economy, with CBH’s grain storage and handling system accounting for 90% of the grain harvest market for imports and exports in Western Australia. Minimizing damage and loss is essential. While the initial proof of concept involved a single pilot operating one drone, the future looks promising for more scalable and cost-effective drone technology operations, where one pilot could manage multiple drones.

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As Sensorem successfully completes 2,500 BVLOS flights, they are now exploring new use cases, such as port monitoring. FlytBase’s Flinks feature, which enables third-party software integrations, will support these explorations. Additionally, the success of the DJI Dock 1 has led Sensorem to consider deploying the more compact DJI Dock 2 in future projects.

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Achal Negi, Director of Business Development at FlytBase, highlighted the potential drone-in-a-box systems hold for the future of agriculture. He concluded by stating: “When we look at typical use cases, as Ed also shared, we were looking at bird deterrence from the crops, it could be fish farms, we are also talking about site security, there could be another use case where you do cattle counting and of course, the crop health monitoring where there could be fields like cotton fields or any crop that you're growing and you want to continuously monitor. This is where FlytBase offers the core components that you can bring together to create a solution suitable for you.”