Huawei Strengthens 5G Smart Agriculture Collaboration with DroneTech

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] Huawei announced a new application developed through 5th generation (5G) smart agriculture cooperation with Austrian drone service provider DroneTech on the 5th.

Huawei shared the progress of the Pioneer Project, jointly initiated last year with DroneTech at the Nussb?ckgut vineyard located in northern Austria, and introduced how 5G and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies can advance the sustainability of agriculture. Additionally, the two companies held a panel session for digitalization and agricultural experts to discuss ways to promote sustainable agriculture using technological innovations such as 5G amid growing global concerns about food security.

Huawei plans to provide cloud computing services that will serve as the foundation for real-time artificial intelligence (AI) analysis along with 5G. DroneTech’s drones, equipped with high-resolution cameras and sensors, survey the land and objects, capturing images and data processed by AI to deliver immediately actionable results to users.

This technology enables the detection of small pests, monitoring of crop conditions, and prediction of yields, allowing farmers to precisely optimize the use of water, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides, thereby minimizing waste.

Furthermore, in the second phase, the two companies plan to develop a shared economy approach for drone services. Users from various sectors, including farmers, local governments, companies, or individuals, will be able to rent drones and AI solutions for a wide range of services such as solar panel inspections, traffic management, or power line wear detection.

Erich Manzer, Vice President of Huawei Austria, said, "5G was developed for three core application areas: high bandwidth, low latency, and connection of millions of devices," adding, "Using drones equipped with AI and 5G technology can address resource-intensive tasks such as maintenance or regional monitoring."