Unmanned aircraft systems for precision weed detection and management: Prospects and challenges

Modern precision weed management relies on site-specific management tactics to maximize resource use efficiency and yield, while reducing unintended environmental impacts caused by herbicides. Scouting for weeds is an important activity to assist weed management decision making, and has been carried out by trained specialists through extensive and routine visual examination of the fields. Recent advancements in Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS)-based tools and geospatial information technology have created enormous applications for efficient and economical assessment of weed infestations as well as site-specific weed management. The utilization of UAS-based technologies for weed management applications is currently in its infancy, but this field has witnessed rapid growth in recent times in terms of aerial data acquisition and analysis. Challenges exist in UAS platform reliability, sensor capability and integration, image pre-processing, quantitative assessment and prediction, final product development, and product delivery. This review summarizes current knowledge on the utility of UAS platforms and remote sensing tools for weed scouting and precision weed management. Further, it critically examines potential opportunities and limitations to current UAS technologies, with particular emphasis on the lessons learned from UAS-based weed management research conducted at Texas A&M University.