AN unmanned helicopter that could revolutionise the agricultural industry took flight at the Grange Homestead in Bridgetown on Thursday March 3.
Farmers and community members gathered for the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) demonstration, which was hosted by Bridgetown-Greenbushes Community Landcare and sponsored by UAV Resources who were showcasing the advanced technology and high-tech safety features that have been included in the Yamaha RMAX Type IG High Performance Unmanned Helicopter.
The UAV can be used in many ways, for example for cost-effective, accurate and highly efficient weed control spraying, seed spreading, easy access to remote or difficult to reach areas, mapping and industrial applications.
Yamaha Senior UAV controller Sam Watson used water to demonstrate how the technology could be used for precision spraying.
Bridgetown-Greenbushes Community Landcare Shire Officer Cheryl Hamence was pleased with the turnout and said there was a lot of potential for the UAVs in pest control.
"The whole day was put together to learn about the potential for unmanned helicopters and their capacity for weed spraying in difficult terrain or hard to get to areas," Ms Hamence said.
"A UAV like this has a lot of potential and would be very useful for some of our local landholders and community groups to help them manage their properties, in particular when relating to native vegetation."
Agricultural Minister Ken Baston attended to watch the demonstration.
"It is a pleasure to be down here and I do look forward to seeing what this helicopter really can do in the future," Mr Baston said. "Agriculture in WA is in a very exciting phase and technology is a very important part of that.
"What we have seen today is advanced technology and what we can do with that in the future. All of these types of things will help make farming simpler. It could be used to push cattle into a yard or sheep into a drive as well as a means to help control weeds in difficult to get to terrain.
"The technology we saw today is just the beginning of making big changes in the world of Agriculture and will help keep Australia to a world standard."
