AGRODRON, THE DRONE-FARMER
design

Adron Technology, Udine (Italy) and Italdron, Ravenna (Italy), 2014
manufacturer/ brand

Adron Technology, Italy

The precision agriculture uses modern instruments and complex information systems with a view to optimising its operations and reducing environmental impacts. Adron Technology, a start-up specialising in the design and development of drones, had an idea: to fly the drones in the skies of the Friuli Region's countryside in Italy to counter the spread of the European corn borer, a dangerous parasite. Thus it was born Agrodron, the first drone-farmer devised in Italy, the result of a collaboration with Italdron of Ravenna.
The drone was particularly efficient in the biological fight against the parasite spreading on corn fields small cellulose capsules containing the eggs of Trichogramma Brassicae, antagonist of the European corn borer, in this way reducing by more than 80% the presence of the parasite.
Agrodron is capable of dealing from a single plant up to 10 hectares per hour; perform monitoring of the fields; spraying of fertilisers and crop protection products. It is self-sufficient, is programmed to know where to fly and where to release, while the operator has a remote control through which it is possible to intervene at any time if necessary. The drone operates on rechargeable batteries (no fuel, and no environmental impact) that provide flight range of about 4 hectares. The cost it is the same of that for chemical pest-control with the great advantage of combatting pests without harm to the environment and to humans. After the first successes, the start-up from Friuli has also developed other applications.

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ADRON Technology - Lotta alla Piralide

 

Adron Technology team

The first idea of Michele Picili and Omar Camerin, who founded the company, was to fly drones in the skies of Friuli campaigns to fight the spread of a dangerous parasite: the European corn borer. The two have been joined step by step by mechanics, computer experts and designers: Luca Zuliani, Giuseppe Lizzi, Loris Ferrari, and Michele Codutti, and the youngest of the guys all in their thirties, Gianfranco De Toni who is only 17 years old. 

Adron Technology is a company focusing on the design and execution of operational systems for implementing unmanned aerial vehicles and land or sea drones. With a mission to make available the most advanced technologies, Adron Technology manufactures systems weighted on the needs of its customers. This provides results, confidentiality and maximum reliability with minimal environmental impact. The fields of application are many, with a historical prevalence for advanced agriculture projects.

 

Following early success, the start-up has also developed other applications. Among the most interesting services in the context of this exhibition: the monitoring of forest areas (for example, a fire-fighting purpose); research of river pollutants, or hidden landfills; the mapping of buildings with detection of damaged areas or with thermal bridges. This service is particularly effective in specific industrial applications, such as research of thermal losses in industrial plants, or in emergency missions, to look for, discovery and rescue of missing people (for example after an earthquake).