RaptorMaps

Produce costs farmers much more money to grow on a per-acre basis, since they need so much more TLC. With produce, quality is everything to the farmers, and there are many more opportunities during the growing season to make changes that will improve the end result. We've all put bruised produce back on the shelf at the grocery store, and for every one of those pieces, there are several the didn't make the cut!

Hi James, great question. We have used drones of all shapes and sizes, including off-the-shelf (DJI Phantom, S1000) and custom fixed-wing aircraft (modified X8 flying wing, 11-ft wingspan composite plane).

We're using them to take measurements at the beginning of the growing season (e.g., stand percentages), middle of the growing season (e.g., custom-built sensors to hunt for specific diseases), and finally, tying that back to the quality of the crops that are coming out of the ground. With that last component, we can be very confident when we say our data assists with agricultural decision-making.

Hi Hacker News. This is Nikhil Vadhavkar. I'm a cofounder of Raptor Maps with Eddie Obropta. We're super excited to announce we're a YC company today. We'll be answering questions as much as we can. If you've ever wanted to know anything about drones, technology and agriculture we'll do the best we can share.