Lorenzo Martelletti
Sales and Business Development Manager
Pix4D
Switzerland

Biography
Lorenzo Martelletti is the Sales and Business Development Manager of Pix4D, a Swiss company and global leader in UAV processing software solutions. Mr. Martelletti holds a Master Degree in Environmental Engineering and has an academic experiences as a Scientific collaborator on webgis at EPFL, an intern on remote sensing of vegetation at NASA Ames Research Center and as a researcher on near-surface geophysics at University of Florence. Prior to Pix4D, he has worked for international projects for Geophysical and Hydrographical Surveying, Biofuels and Carbon offsetting in forestry operation.

Abstract
UAV use in Precision Agriculture

Introduction Aerial mapping by means of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), airborne sensors and image processing software, represents a major innovation opportunity for Precision Agriculture. This new technology offers agronomists and farmers highly accurate data that is available on demand and can be acquired in an easy-to-use and cost-effective way. In this presentation, we will discuss benefits of UAV use in agriculture, show how Pix4D software is capable of turning geo-referenced RGB and multispectral imagery acquired with UAVs into meaningful and accurate spatial information and vegetation indexes (e.g. NDVI) of agricultural fields, and analyze application examples of practical use cases. Abstract The use of UAVs in Precision Agriculture is growing worldwide, especially in North and South America as well as South East Asia. The factors that play a critical role in the adoption of UAV technology from the Agriculture industry are the following: • Easy-to-use technology, even for non-specialists • High-resolution data is available on demand • Cost effective solution fitting the needs of the Agriculture industry, low cost for hard- and software in respect to traditional large scale photogrammetry Benefits for farmers are significant: improved knowledge of the fields can lead to lower expenses in fertilizer, lower usage of water resources, increased yield as well as weed and disease risk reduction. UAV mapping applications range from simple aerial mapping of fields for cadastral or insurance usage, monitoring the health of the crop with respect to fertilization application or irrigation using vegetation indexes such as NDVI, production of maps for machinery navigation systems, to early detection of weeds and diseases. In this presentation we will analyze and discuss practical use cases, courtesy of early adopters of this technology.