Thanks to investments promoted by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF) of the Lombardy Region and the European Union for the Innovation and Competitiveness sector, Aermatica3D has studied and implemented a flying proximity system for cleaning and weeding of vertical walls with drone, such as ancient walls and facades of prestigious buildings such as ancient palaces.
Currently these operations are carried out using traditional solutions based on raised platforms, where it is possible to access from a lower roadway or operated manually through trained people who needs to climb onto the vertical surfaces to be treated.
Often the ancient walls subject to deterioration due to the widespread presence of weeds border watercourses and are characterized by conditions that make it very complicated, if not impossible to safely carry out weeding and cleaning operations. In other cases, the hight and the size of the surfaces to be treated make operations with traditional means complicated, risky and very expensive.
Therefore, as part of the CleanFly project, Aermatica3D has proposed a technological solution with drones that makes this kind of treatment possible with low costs, without impact on the environment and without danger to operators.
The request for such a solution comes directly from the Italian public administrations that oversee the cultural heritage that requires cleaning treatments and from specialized operators who still operate with traditional means. Often the complexity and costs related to activities carried out manually and with traditional means, determine costs that cannot be faced by public administrations and make it impossible for companies that provide services in the sector to be able to prepare a sustainable economic proposals for customers.
Aermatica3D, in developing the CleanFly project, starts from the research and experimentation already carried out in collaboration with the SGD Group and the Municipality of Treviso in 2020, for an experimentation with drones which would allow to weed the sections of the ancient walls of Treviso, otherwise unreachable or difficult to handle.
The solution covered by the CleanFly project is characterized by an industrial drone such as the DJI Matrice 300 RTK, specially customized to become a suitable and optimized system to perform the application described, i.e. distribute liquid product in flight in a horizontal direction on a vertical surface almost in direct contact in a very complex, urban operating scenario with little space and many obstacles. The automated distribution system is powered from the ground with a special high capacity sprayer pump placed on the ground and connected to the drone by means of a pipe to allow adequate distribution capacity of the liquid.
In the case of weeding treatments on the ancient walls, the already tested liquid product to be distributed is a biological liquid that is not at all invasive for the environment and is highly effective in contrasting the deterioration of the ancient walls.
The drone is equipped with sensors and customized software to have a high operational control and to be able to fly in a safe and controlled way at close range from the surface to be treated. The customized distribution system allows the desired quantity of liquid to be distributed in an appropriately directed manner on the surface, minimizing product drift and ensuring uniform coverage of the surface being treated. The proposed solution derives from the technologies now widely used in the agricultural sector for the distribution of liquid biological products with drones that Aermatica3D has extensively tested in the past during research and experimentation activities with the Fojanini Foundation in Sondrio, the Consorzio dei Vini del Candia, the Institut Français de la Vigne et du Vin in France, the phytosanitary service of the Lombardy Region and which it offers today on the Italian and European market.
The same technology can be used in the application of liquid products on tall trees as can be the scenario of the fight against the pine processionary which today creates many problems in parks and cities. In fact, the processionary, in addition to causing extensive damage to plants, causes dangers for people and animals due to irritation and possible allergic reactions as a result of contact with the skin or ingestion of hair by pets.
The CleanFly project is an experimental development of an innovative technology and responds to the need to protect and enhance the territory and cultural heritage in addition to the need for operators to work safely. The operators who currently provide this service will no longer be forced to carry out dangerous manual activities in contact with herbicides harmful to humans. Instead, they will be able to work remotely, instead of being directly involved in dispensing cleaning liquids. The operation is carried out through a console of the mechatronic system, drone and distribution kit, for the controlled dispensing of cleaning and weeding products.
Aermatica3D is an Italian drone solution provider that integrates different flight platforms, sensors, software, and hardware components, to meet the specific needs of companies, research centers, government bodies, and professionals. For each specific application need, they select the most suitable drones, sensors and develop specific planning, management, and mission software. The company carries out customized engineering developments, completing safe and reliable flight platforms operated according to the application needs of the customer and ENAC authorizations.
Based on the specific needs of the customer, Aermatica3D can offer a turnkey service, operating in the field with their pilots and specialized technicians, or an integrated product with the appropriate technologies, accompanied by the training necessary for the application use, which allows the customer to use the system independently.
Aermatica3D is also DJI Enterprise and DJI Agriculture Official Dealer and System Integrator, DJI Agriculture Maintenance Center and DJI Academy Center. DJI is the world manufacturer of drones, able to guarantee at the same time an excellent quality – price ratio with high reliability. Aermatica3D develops applications on top of DJI drones thanks to the DJI SDKs and its wide range of platforms suitable for every need, easily adaptable, and extensible.
Aermatica3D is a partner of CUBEPILOT, a world leader in Pixhawk open-source systems for the automatic piloting of UAS SAPR technologies, and Elistair, an international manufacturer of tethered systems for drones.
Interview with Maddalena Di Tommaso, Sales and Marketing Specialist at Aermatica3D.
Easy Engineering: What are the main areas of activity of the company?
Maddalena Di Tommaso: Main areas of our activity are solutions for Industrial, Safety and Agricultural application of our drones related technology.
Solution for Industries
Among the many companies that benefit most from the solutions proposed by Aermatica3D are energy companies, manufacturing industries, professional firms, and engineering companies interested in optimizing productivity, data management, and personnel safety.
Safety, reliability, and efficiency are essential characteristics for the industrial sector, the primary beneficiary of the technological innovations introduced by drones and their operational solutions able to offer valuable integrations in the processes of industry 4.0.
The solutions provided by drones can return visual, radiometric, thermal, and environmental data helpful in carrying out an innumerable number of operations in industrial plants, power plants, construction sites, and the built environment.
The software integration capabilities into business processes, support, technical assistance, maintenance, and the fulfillment of personal requirements make Aermatica3D the ideal partner for many industrial players.
Solutions for Agriculture
The Aermatica3D Drones for Agriculture are precision aerial surveying instruments for precision agriculture, equipped with visible, multispectral and thermal sensors that provide quickly and easily crop status maps.
The Aermatica3D drones for agriculture are also tools for targeted low-cost, ecological and economical air distribution of products. It is possible to distribute from the low altitude above ground in an automatic and precise way, liquid products, granules, powders and capsules; the drone can import a map and quickly and effectively distribute the products exclusively in the areas that need them and in the appropriate quantity.
Through automatic flights, programmed simply through the APP BLY3D of Aermatica3D, you can make quick surveys and distribution of products optimized in a repeatable and economic way, without polluting for a bio sustainable agriculture in respect of the environment.
Solutions for Security
With Aermatica3D’s integrations to support companies and government bodies, it is possible to use security drones perfectly integrated into alarm and video surveillance systems, capable of obtaining an immediate overview of the site, managing every aspect of the flight in a safe, complete, and efficient way.
Drones can be used as a deterrent to the entry of sensitive or dangerous sites, detect potential intruders, or assist with investigations, thus improving the efficiency of inspections and sending assistance to inquiries feedback in real-time, directly to the total security control center.
These solutions also make it possible to patrol large areas, provide complete coverage, carry out fully automatic flights at pre-established times, and carry out missions activated by external alarms and sensors.
In addition, we develop integrated solutions for drones in the field of Search and Rescue. Timeliness and accuracy are fundamental requirements in case of emergencies. The solutions and integrations offered by Aermatica3D can bring significant benefits in search and rescue, guaranteeing simplified, reliable, and high-performance missions.
Aermatica3D’s solutions include specific kits and high-precision visible and thermal cameras perfectly integrated into the BLY3D app, a fully customizable software with features specifically designed for search and rescue operations.
With the “control center” function, it is possible, for example, to employ multiple pilots in different areas having a single expert able to control each payload directly from his control center, communicate with the pilots on the ground, and show the position pointed by the camera in real-time thus ensuring maximum speed, accuracy, and efficiency at each intervention.
E.E: What’s the news about new products?
M.D.T: In the applications of Drones in Specific scenarios with safety issues, to further extend the usage scenarios, Aermatica3D has also developed, flight terminator – FTS (flight termination system), a safety device that ends the flight in case of system problems – which enables the critical scenarios issues required by EASA (the European Aviation Safety Agency) without altering the design characteristics of the drone and without interfering with the drone on-board systems.
Aermatica3D drones for agriculture instead, are also means for the targeted, ecological and economic aerial distribution of products from low altitude. It is possible to distribute liquid products, granules, powders and capsules automatically and precisely from low altitude. The drone can import a map and quickly and effectively distribute the products exclusively in the areas that need them and in the right quantity. We develop applications for drones that allow the distribution of environmental treatments in inaccessible or large areas, such as: distribution of liquids on complex scenarios, product distribution, distribution of beneficial insects drone pollination and more. Aermatica3D biological control kits have been awarded at two editions of the Technical Innovation Context at EIMA one of the most important fair in Europe related to Agriculture Mechanizations. Those solutions can be an enabling factor to aid the development of wide application of Biological Control Tecnique.
E.E: What are the ranges of products?
M.D.T: The range of products of Aermatica3D varies from drones integration of different flight platforms, sensors, software, and hardware components, to meet the specific needs of companies, research centers, government bodies, and professionals, making a drone an ideal tool for several advanced application tasks
E.E: At what stage is the market where you are currently active?
M.D.T: Aermatica3D is well placed on Italian the drone solution market, especially in the field of Agriculture, Industry and Search and Rescue. The company is planning for a stronger internationalization process to enhance the already existing cooperation and presence with projects that cover Chile, Greece, Spain France and more.
E.E: What can you tell us about market trends?
M.D.T: The agriculture drones market share is expected to witness notable growth until 2030, owing to rise in venture funding for deployment of drones in the agriculture industry, globally. Furthermore, surge in adoption of precision farming solutions drives growth of the market during the forecast period. Moreover, surge in demand for a reduction in cost associated with human error is expected to propel the agriculture drones market analysis.
E.E: What are the most innovative products marketed?
M.D.T: One of our solutions in line with the objectives of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and sees the collaboration between Aermatica3D and Koppert, a world leader in the supply of biological solutions for agriculture. This synergy led to the development of an innovative specific kit for the distribution of useful organisms which had already received the Technical Innovation award at the Eima 2018 competition – the international reference event for agricultural mechanization in Italy – and the now finalized kit has confirmed its effectiveness also receiving the same award at the Eima 2022 competition.
The current application technique is based on the preventive release of the predator on the perimeter of the field as soon as the conditions favor the development of the pathogen. The phytoseiid mite is thus able to settle in the crop and keep it clean by preying on the phytophagous. For precision distribution, the drone has a precise mapping to follow, it flies at a height of 4-5 meters and the predatory mites, placed in a tank together with a substrate of sawdust, are dispersed like a fan. When the tank runs out or the battery runs out, the drone returns to the starting point, refuels and picks up from where it left off. Once the logistic is being set (getting organized with qualified pilots and suitable tools, mapping the field, providing coordinates and product) the advantages are enormous: great speed of application, even more than 100 hectares a day; high precision and uniformity of distribution; all at a decidedly competitive cost”.
E.E: What estimations do you have for 2023?
M.D.T: Our plan in 2023 is to penetrate foreign markets with focus on our drones solutions in the field of agriculture and of course, keep going with innovation and technology researches and applications.
What was once a prototype has now become a fully operational system and represents a further step forward in the cooperation between Koppert Italia and Aermatica3D in the field of sustainable agriculture and the distribution of useful organisms by drone.
The solution is in line with the objectives of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and sees the collaboration between Koppert, a world leader in the supply of biological solutions for agriculture, and Aermatica3D, a company specialized in the development of solutions based on of drones, software and customized kits. This synergy had led to the development of an innovative specific kit for the distribution of useful organisms which had already received the Technical Innovation award at the Eima 2018 competition - the international reference event in Italy for agricultural mechanization - and the now the finalized kit has confirmed its effectiveness, receiving the same award at Eima 2022.
Sustainability in agriculture is achieved by ensuring greater crop production using fewer resources, while maintaining high quality standards. These objectives can be achieved with precision agriculture, to which Koppert and Aermatica3D have dedicated these last few years of research by creating a kit for the rapid, precise and uniform distribution of useful organisms in open fields according to the requirements indicated by Koppert.
The development and subsequent field testing of the system for the distribution of beneficials gave the expected results in the 2022 agricultural season. "The distribution of Spidex Vital (Phytoseiulus Persimilis) in variable dosage on processing tomatoes on different fields in the Piacenza , Parma, Cremona and Bologna has in fact allowed effective containment of the main phytophagous of this crop, the red spider mite (Tetranychus Urticae) - declares Francesco Bourlot, product development manager at Koppert Italia. Both the farmers and the technicians involved in the experimentation on more than 400 hectares of industrial tomatoes have in fact confirmed the success of this innovative distribution and biocontrol technique. The containment of the spider mite was in fact considered satisfactory in 95% of cases, a percentage higher than that of conventional control techniques.
The current technique is based on the preventive release of the predator on the perimeter of the field as soon as the conditions favor the development of the pathogen. The phytoseiid mite is thus able to settle in the crop and keep it clean by preying on the phytophagous. "For precision distribution, the drone has a precise mapping to follow, it flies at a height of 4-5 meters and the predatory mites, placed in a tank together with a substrate of sawdust, are dispersed like a fan - explains Paolo Marras, general manager of Aermatica3D. When the tank is empty or the battery runs out, the drone returns to the starting point, refuels and picks up from where it left off. Once the logistics are organized (having qualified pilots and suitable tools, mapping the field, providing coordinates and product) the advantages are enormous. Great speed of application, even more than 100 hectares a day, high precision and uniformity of distribution, all at a decidedly competitive cost”.
It should also be emphasized that working with a live product, the quicker it is placed on the plant, the better the result. In addition to the industrial tomato, currently the main crop with which this system is worked, launches of other species of mites and useful insects are also being tested on other crops such as watermelon, soybeans and vines.
Precision agriculture is and will increasingly be an ally of producers precisely because it is capable of guaranteeing efficiency and sustainability. Aermatica3D and Koppert will continue their cooperation in order to be able to supply products, technical assistance, technical means and teams of drone operators for the application in a "complete package". In addition to this, the research and development of innovative solutions in the agricultural sector will continue, to guarantee productivity while respecting the protection of the environment, the health of the farmer and the consumer.
