A new smart drone for agriculture released in China

XAG Co Ltd, one of China's largest agricultural drone makers, unveiled a range of smart agricultural products and their application scenarios during its annual technology conference, aiming to provide more solutions to facilitate unmanned agricultural production.

The newly launched smart agricultural devices have achieved breakthrough innovations in autonomous driving, structural design, material science, and intelligent manufacturing, according to the company.

"We have not only enhanced the performance, reliability, and user-friendliness of the products but also reduced the production and usage costs, allowing more agricultural producers to benefit from the convenience brought by technologies," said Peng Bin, chief executive officer and founder of XAG.

Peng made the remarks during the company's technology conference, which was held in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, on Monday.

Based on different application scenarios and diverse user needs, XAG launched the new generation of agricultural drones, the P150 and P60, which have undergone comprehensive upgrades in flight control, structural design, task systems, and power systems, enabling them to have higher operational efficiency, more flexible control methods, and lower usage costs.

The highly anticipated P150 agricultural drone has four major functions - spraying, sowing, transportation, and aerial surveying, making it suitable for various operational scenarios, according to the company.

XAG launches its more efficient P150 agricultural drone. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

With a maximum payload of 70 kilograms, a maximum spraying flow rate of 30 liters per minute, and a maximum sowing and material transportation speed of 280 kg per minute, the P150 sets new benchmarks for agricultural drones in terms of operational performance, the company said.

To effectively solve the operational challenges in the agricultural cultivation process, XAG has also launched its APC2 agricultural machinery autopilot system.

Data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs shows that the comprehensive mechanization rate of crop cultivation in China has reached 72 percent, with over 20 million tractors in the country and a strong growth in medium and large tractors.

"However, with the loss of rural laborers, it has become increasingly difficult for farmers to hire experienced agricultural machinery operators. Moreover, many operators also feel exhausted due to the monotonous and repetitive driving tasks," said Peng.

A transplanting machine, equipped with APC2 agricultural autopilot system, is in operation in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

With the support of Beidou's high-precision navigation, the new generation of the company's APC2 agricultural unmanned vehicle control system empowers traditional agricultural machinery with precise and efficient automation capabilities.