UAV-IQ: Taking to the Skies for Agriculture

Over Coffee® | Stories and Resources from the Intersection of Art and Science | Exploring How to Make STEAM Work For You

Drones as an implement of agriculture? That's exactly how Los Angeles-based startup UAV-IQ Precision Agriculture is using them. UAV-IQ President Andreas Neuman founded his global precision agriculture service in 2015, bringing his expertise from a successful eleven-year career with the U.S. Air Force. (Andreas, who received an honorable discharge at the rank of Major, served in the Air Force as a pilot, flight instructor--and ultimately, unmanned aerial vehicle mission commander.) "I've been involved with drones since '08 or '09," Andreas told a Toolbox LA lunchtime audience in March. "A drone is just a data collection platform. It's about the data the drone collects." Drones, Andreas explained, can fly under to terrain to collect more accurate information on agricultural conditions. "Just like in the military, if you can't send the right information to the right people, it's worthless. A drone can get under clouds and (collect very accurate) data." That data, he said, includes healthy crops, problem areas and soil conditions. "No field that I'm aware of is really homogeneous." Andreas talked about his background, his experiences creating UAV-IQ Precision Agriculture and the ways his services are helping farmers and vineyard owners to better manage their land while optimizing crops. On this edition of Over Coffee® you'll hear: How Andreas first started working with drones as he served in the Air Force; His journey after graduating from UCLA's business program; His experiences with two accelerators in Chile and Puerto Rico, applying drone technology to agriculture; One of his favorite stories from working with a small vineyard owner in Chile; How his current drone services can help improve efficiency for small California farm or vineyard owners; A service UAV-IQ provides, that wowed a small vineyard owner in Chile; One of the common myths about robotics that UAV-IQ disproves; How these services analyze historic conditions to predict future yields; What Andreas is doing with drones in the research area; One of the most unusual ways in which Andreas has seen his services applied; Andreas' vision for UAV-IQ Precision Agriculture, for the future; A lesson for entrepreneurs, that he's learned from his experiences.