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Agricultural drones are transforming rice farming in the Mekong River delta

hakaimagazine.com

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Re: Agricultural drones are transforming rice farming in the Mekong River delta

#21
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. Until recently though, spraying by drone was a near impossible permitting nightmare (now it’s only a minor permitting nightmare) and was inefficient because you needed a Part 107 pilot and a Visual Observer for each individual drone. But, things have gotten better. Before, spray drones over 55lb (the limit for a Small UAS in the US) had to go through an experimental aircraft registration program and be granted a…

Is it possible to buy a piece of land and just get a rule that says "I can pretty much fly anything 100 feet up in the air above my property"? It's kindof frustrating that this isn't the case. If you're a company developing drones, for instance, how do you even test them?

Just do whatever you want no one patrols for this. Someone would have to call it in then a cop would have to show and do something about it in a timely manner. Fat chance IMO. I see either hobbyist or real estate photography drones overhead my property all the time, no way any of that has a permit. How would I even report the tresspass? They are gone in a few minutes. Cops aren’t showing up that fast without a body.

Re: Agricultural drones are transforming rice farming in the Mekong River delta

#22
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. Until recently though, spraying by drone was a near impossible permitting nightmare (now it’s only a minor permitting nightmare) and was inefficient because you needed a Part 107 pilot and a Visual Observer for each individual drone. But, things have gotten better. Before, spray drones over 55lb (the limit for a Small UAS in the US) had to go through an experimental aircraft registration program and be granted a…

Is it possible to buy a piece of land and just get a rule that says "I can pretty much fly anything 100 feet up in the air above my property"? It's kindof frustrating that this isn't the case. If you're a company developing drones, for instance, how do you even test them?

Is above your property in a controlled airspace?

You'd probably get a license to fly drones to test the drones. Wouldn't you expect a test driver to have a driver's license?

Re: Agricultural drones are transforming rice farming in the Mekong River delta

#23
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm back in Vietnam (Saigon) for the first time in 4 years and it has been like a time machine. Covid definitely left its mark on this country due to the severe lockdowns they went through. The most interesting change I've noticed is that nearly everyone speaks at least a little English now. Interesting - here in Japan the consensus is that the level of English went down , as we had a few years of no tourists and n…

Today, as a tourist in Japan many restaurants and bars outside of Kyoto, Tokyo, and Osaka and some in those places will not serve me food or a whiskey highball because I am not Japanese. They say "No English" as the reason. Four African students who recently graduated from the University of Kyoto were refused entry into a bar in Kyoto as I walked by. They all speak English and Japanese fluently unlike many of their J…

I've traveled all over Asia and lived in many countries for extended periods. It's also been my experience that the Vietnamese are the most welcoming and genuinely interested in talking to foreigners.

Re: Agricultural drones are transforming rice farming in the Mekong River delta

#24
post #2

I'm back in Vietnam (Saigon) for the first time in 4 years and it has been like a time machine. Covid definitely left its mark on this country due to the severe lockdowns they went through. The most interesting change I've noticed is that nearly everyone speaks at least a little English now. Attributed to being locked inside and a lot of YouTube. It used to be difficult/expensive to get drones here, but I see DJI sto…

In Hoi An, locals are known for their English fluency since more than 10 years ago, when I came back there last year, I was blown away by so many locals speak Korean just as fluent.

Re: Agricultural drones are transforming rice farming in the Mekong River delta

#25
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm back in Vietnam (Saigon) for the first time in 4 years and it has been like a time machine. Covid definitely left its mark on this country due to the severe lockdowns they went through. The most interesting change I've noticed is that nearly everyone speaks at least a little English now. Interesting - here in Japan the consensus is that the level of English went down , as we had a few years of no tourists and n…

Today, as a tourist in Japan many restaurants and bars outside of Kyoto, Tokyo, and Osaka and some in those places will not serve me food or a whiskey highball because I am not Japanese. They say "No English" as the reason. Four African students who recently graduated from the University of Kyoto were refused entry into a bar in Kyoto as I walked by. They all speak English and Japanese fluently unlike many of their J…

> It felt like the country is trying very hard to address many of the environmental problems like moving from gas powered to electric vehicles.

This is my favorite IG: https://www.instagram.com/sai_gonxanh/

But also SOOO depressing at the same time. The country is actually really really bad with trash and waste. The culture is literally to just toss trash into gutters. I can't tell you how many times on this trip alone that I've seen people just toss trash out car windows. Sigh...

Here is what is happening now, due to over farming, building dams everywhere and generally poor management...

https://www.instagram.com/p/C8Bk7jgvF65/

Re: Agricultural drones are transforming rice farming in the Mekong River delta

#26
post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it possible to buy a piece of land and just get a rule that says "I can pretty much fly anything 100 feet up in the air above my property"? It's kindof frustrating that this isn't the case. If you're a company developing drones, for instance, how do you even test them?

Is above your property in a controlled airspace? You'd probably get a license to fly drones to test the drones. Wouldn't you expect a test driver to have a driver's license?

In most (many?) US jurisdictions, you don't need a driver's license to drive on private property.

Re: Agricultural drones are transforming rice farming in the Mekong River delta

#27
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. Until recently though, spraying by drone was a near impossible permitting nightmare (now it’s only a minor permitting nightmare) and was inefficient because you needed a Part 107 pilot and a Visual Observer for each individual drone. But, things have gotten better. Before, spray drones over 55lb (the limit for a Small UAS in the US) had to go through an experimental aircraft registration program and be granted a…

Interesting! In Australia we see drones mapping areas that need to be sprayed, then that data is downloaded into a tractor which traverses the field spraying (or adding nutrient) according to data collected by the drone. Haven't heard of spraying drones yet

This makes way more sense. Spraying with drones is a huge waste of energy.

Re: Agricultural drones are transforming rice farming in the Mekong River delta

#30
>> fly the drone with no physical effort and no direct exposure to pesticides—some of which have been associated with diseases of the eyes, ears, nose, throat, skin, and gastrointestinal tract.

Slightly tangential, but what's the thinking here?

We don't want to get it on us while spraying it, but then we'll eat it and it'll be fine?

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