Jan. 20th 2020 8:20 am

Pyka is taking on the crop-spraying business with its autonomous crop drone, which is capable of spraying 135 acres in an hour. The drone removes the danger for pilots who fly a few meters from the ground and reduces costs.

Pyka received the $11 million from Prime Movers Lab, Y Combinator, Greycroft, Daa Collective, and Bold Capital Partners.

The drone used by the company takes on the shape of a standard crop duster capable of holding payloads up to 450 pounds. It only needs 150 feet to take off and comprises of three 20 kW electric motors capable of cruising at a top speed of 90 mph. The drone sprays out the payload using a custom centrifugal pump with carbon composite spray booms to deliver the chemicals effectively and precisely.

Pyka’s drone is capable of detecting obstacles and flying around them. No one needs to fly the drone at all during the operation, as operators only enter flight parameters, and the autonomous flight controller does the rest. The drone has a custom-built battery that includes redundant cells and can be swapped for fast turnaround times between fights.

The company is also looking to fill a few jobs in software engineering, operations, manufacturing, and electrical engineering. Which type of drones to you prefer? The standard quadcopter design or a plane design? Let us know in the comments below.

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Photo: Pyka

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