Sentera has launched the Phoenix 2 Fixed-Wing UAV, it announced on 9 June. The UAV supports several sensors, including the Sentera Quad Sensor, Sentera Double 4K Sensor, Radiometric Thermal Sensor and Sentera-Q.

The system weighs 4lbs and has a cruise speed of 30mph and endurance of 60 minutes. The UAV features the company’s OnTop and AgVault open software platforms. It can be hand-launched and carries multiple sensor options, according to the company.

It features a professional-grade Kestrel OnBoard autopilot system that constantly auto-optimises and auto-calculates according to a specified grid pattern to ensure that the collected data meets the specifications.

Todd Colten, chief aerospace engineer, Sentera, said: ‘The Phoenix 2 brings a level of precision and accuracy to UAVs that hasn't been seen before. Users can now collect highly detailed data quickly, and with complete certainty about its accuracy. The grid pattern you specify is mapped pre-flight. The drone knows exactly what line to follow to get the exact looping radius, and the exact flight level needed for perfect tiling.

‘Growers are using the Phoenix 2 with agriculture-specific sensors to collect RGB, NIR, and NDVI imagery. That imagery is so precise – [the growers] tell us they're targeting and treating specific parts of their fields, and then they're using fewer chemicals, saving money and increasing yields. Follow-up flights can be programmed to use the same pattern for exact data comparison at multiple times throughout the growing season. We're getting great feedback from our customers.’