Yamaha Motor makes commercial UAV industry debut with precision agriculture drone

International auto motor manufacturer Yamaha Motor Co. has announced it is entering the UAV market this year.
 

The company will begin limited sales of the YMR-08 industrial multi-rotor drone, featuring coaxial rotors to provide excellent agrochemical spraying performance, from June 2018 in Japan.
 

The industrial drone, which will feature a lightweight carbon body, will be capable of continuous spraying of one hectare per flight.
 

According to the manufacturer, the YMR-08 delivers spraying quality comparable to Yamaha Motor’s industrial-use unmanned helicopters.
 

It is anticipated that this new drone product will be used for agricultural chemical spraying of cultivated fields such as rice paddies once sales begin through the Yamaha Motor distributor network. Full commercial sales of the YMR-08 in Japan are planned for autumn.
 

Yamaha Motor has over 30 years of experience in the agrochemical spraying business using unmanned helicopters, with the total area sprayed each year in this business exceeding one million hectares, covering more than 40% of Japan’s rice paddy cultivation area.
 

The new YMR-08 was developed based on the concept of completing continuous spraying of one hectare per flight in 15 minutes.
 

As well as spraying quality, the dedicated battery and motors have been developed to ensure controllability, operability, and safety, delivering performance which satisfies professional agricultural users.