UK-based startup Flyingcarpet has used a drone with AI capabilities to calculate the yield of a coconut farm in Papua New Guinea, a world first according to an announcement made by the organization on Thursday.
Charged with renewable energy, the drone was able to help coconut farmer Namaliu Jr. count his yield across over 100 hectares using high definition video cameras, according to a statement. This operation would otherwise take several workers multiple days to complete, and will allow Namaliu Jr. to better estimate his return on crop harvesting and prevent theft of his coconuts, said the company.
“This groundbreaking proof of concept demonstrates just a fraction of the potential that AI-powered drones with blockchain technology can do for improving the lives of people in emerging economies like Papua New Guinea, who typically do not have access to smartphones or the Internet,” stated Founder and CEO of Flyingcarpet Julien Bouteloup. ‘This is just one exciting use case for Flyingcarpet. The Air Network, and the machines which operate within it, has the potential to transform services across many industries, from the energy sector, infrastructure, logistics, as well as humanitarian efforts.”
Flyingcarpet is powered by the AIR Network protocol, a decentralized network used to deploy IoT devices including drones to collect data in a timely and cost efficient manner, especially when automating tasks that are otherwise expensive and labor intensive.
According to Flying Carpet, the AIR Network protocol allows multiple different stakeholders to benefit, inculding drone and charging dock owners, developers who can be rewarded in tokens for building applications for the network, and businesses and communities that employ the protocol to enhance their operations and reduce their costs.
Viktor Tron, one of the first Ethereum Foundation employees and a Flyingcarpet advisor said, “Julien and I share a common vision of fully decentralised supply chain economies. Drones are the future and the Flyingcarpet project offers a decentralised solution to industries like
agriculture and infrastructure. Julien is a passionate and dedicated entrepreneur and I believe he is the most capable person in the field to bring this project to scale.”
