Background
A leading innovator in agriculture has consistently sought to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of its fertiliser application methods. Traditionally, the organisation grappled with the timely distribution of urea, a crucial nutrient for crops, across vast farmlands. The shift from traditional urea bands to nano urea in bottled form marked a significant advancement, yet it still required a more efficient application method due to the extensive size of the fields involved.
The Challenge
The initial manual spraying method, although improved with bottled nano urea, remained labour-intensive and time-consuming, requiring several days to cover extensive areas. The subsequent adoption of drones to spray urea revolutionised this process, reducing the time needed to mere minutes. However, this innovative step introduced new challenges, particularly in monitoring and verifying the work of drone operators to prevent theft and ensure the urea is applied accurately and uniformly.
The Solution
To address these operational challenges, the organisation collaborated with EnableX to integrate cutting-edge video streaming technology into their processes. This integration into their agricultural management app enables drone operators to monitor drone operations in real-time, right from their digital devices.
- Live Streaming: The agricultural management app was enhanced with EnableX’s advanced video APIs, enabling operators to live stream their spraying activities directly to the command centre for real-time monitoring.
- Live Auditing: Operators can closely observe the drone’s flight path, fertilization rate, and efficiency, immediately identifying and addressing any issues, such as missed areas, equipment malfunctions, or incorrect application density
- Post Operation Analysis: Live streaming provides valuable data, helping optimise future flights, thereby reducing the cost of manual checks and enhances operational accuracy.
- Technological Enhancements: Acknowledging the connectivity issues often faced in rural areas, the resolution of the video was optimised to prevent heavy data usage and ensure consistent live streaming even with poor internet connectivity.
Results
The integration of drone technology with live video streaming yielded transformative outcomes:
- Increased Efficiency: The use of drones significantly shortened the time required to apply urea, enhancing operational efficiency and enabling the treatment of more fields within a shorter period.
- Enhanced Transparency and Accountability: Real-time video monitoring brought an unprecedented level of transparency and oversight, greatly reducing the likelihood of fraudulent claims by operators and ensuring that urea was applied correctly and uniformly.
- Scalability: Beginning with a pilot of 50 drones, the project successfully expanded to include 1,500 drones, showcasing the approach’s scalability and its effectiveness in real-world conditions.
- Resource Management: Adjustments made to the video streaming technology ensured that drone operators’ data allowances were not depleted, thereby removing a major obstacle to efficient operations.
Conclusion
This case study illustrates how the organisation, through the integration of drone technology and real-time video streaming, has redefined agricultural efficiency. The initiative significantly streamlined the application of urea across extensive farmlands and established a robust system for monitoring and auditing these operations. The organisation’s innovative approach has become a benchmark within the agricultural sector, demonstrating the transformative potential of digital solutions in modernising traditional farming practices.
To discover how live streaming and video calling APIs can elevate your business, contact us today or sign up for a free trial to experience it firsthand.
