Precision agriculture from above

The Yamaha RMAX unmanned helicopter has been designed specifically for the agricultural industry.

It can be put to a multitude of tasks from spraying to seeding, remote sensing, precision agriculture and variable rate dispersal.

In 1983 the Yamaha Motor Company was asked to develop an unmanned helicopter for crop dusting purposes from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery of Japan.

Its research and development efforts led to the completion of the Industrial-use Unmanned Helicopter R-50 in 1987.

According to the company's website, the Yamaha R-50, with its payload of 20kg, was the first practical-use unmanned helicopter for crop dusting.

The newest member for Yamaha Sky Division Australia weighs in at 99kg, has a total length of 3.63m and a height of 1.08m.

Yamaha Sky Division Australia national sales manager Mike Johnson said it was the ultimate piece of farm machinery for the 21st century.

He said the new technology allowed operators to spray weeds, crops or spread seed in a more cost-effective and accurate manner.

As RMAX can go completely airborne, terrain is no longer an issue.

Spraying dangerous aquatic weeds or accessing uneven ground is all part of the package and can be done in an efficient way.

Liquids and granules can be dispersed across a 400m range from the location of the operator, covering two acres in just six minutes.