Icaros Inc., a Fairfax, Va.-based provider of aerial imaging software, and Agrowing, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based supplier of multispectral sensors and analytics software, have announced an integrated drone product that bundles Icaros’ OneButton software into Agrowing’s solution stack. The companies say the solution automates the entire workflow – from image capture through generation of fully indexed orthomosaic maps – for agriculture.
As part of the agreement between the companies, Agrowing will offer an exclusive product bundle that includes Agrowing’s multispectral sensor, Icaros’ OneButton standard edition and Agrowing’s agriculture solution. The combined features enable Agrowing users to process imagery into high-fidelity, fully indexed orthomosaic maps for agriculture.
Agrowing’s patent-pending multispectral solution can capture four 8MP or 10MP bands each for NDVI and all other vegetation indices on a single sensor. The current offering is compatible with modified (full-spectrum) Sony cameras coupled with near-infrared and red-edge lenses. Based on the NEX5, Alpha 5xxx, ILCE QX1 and UMC-R10C, Agrowing’s solution provides 8MP per band, and based on the Alpha 6xxx camera, it provides 10MP color channels.
Icaros’ OneButton family lets users automatically generate geospatially precise, fully orthorectified 2D maps and 3D models from frame-based aerial imaging systems. Originally engineered for manned aircraft sensors, the OneButton software has been modified to accommodate the unique collection conditions of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), the company explains. Version 5.1 of the OneButton standard and professional image processing software for UAS contains advanced algorithms to process images from Agrowing’s multispectral sensors.
“We offer the only solution on the market that is able to acquire high-resolution, low-distortion multispectral imagery from both high and low altitude,” says Ira Dvir, CEO of Agrowing.
The product bundle, available through Agrowing, is now being offered to drone manufacturers, according to the companies.