How remote drone technology can be deployed to protect grain stockpiles from birds

As the first company in Australia to deploy the cutting-edge DJI Dock system, Sensorem’s Drone-in-a-Box (DiaB) solution SensHub-Custom was on hand to assist Western Australian grain co-operative, Co-operative Bulk Handling (CBH), with the persistent issue of birds damaging the tarpaulins (tarps) that covered the post-harvest grain stockpiles.

Our Drone in a Box (DiaB)solution allows for the remote operation of drones, with the pilot operating remotely from a Remote Operations Centre, often thousands of kilometres from the site.

With the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) approval for beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) operations at Sensorem’s Remote Operations Centre in Subiaco, Western Australia, the door was opened for an unprecedented deployment of drone technology, empowering farmers across Australia with advanced, efficient solutions to enhance their operations.

Sensorem’s SensHub Drone-in-a-Box (DiaB) case study

CBH operates Australia’s largest network of grain receival points, rail, and bulk export terminals. Within each receival site, CBH has a number of open bulk heads (OBH), where grain is stored, awaiting transport to the CBH port facilities. 

Once full, these OBHs are covered by tarps that protect the grain. Each year, these tarps are damaged by birds drawn to the grain inside. Read on for more details on how drones can help precision agriculture with these types of persistent attacks. 

The technology deployed

The CBH innovation team approached Sensorem to help solve the bird problem. Sensorem facilitated specialised agricultural drone technology by using drones mounted with speaker systems, operating on automated flight paths over the OBHs to scare the birds into nearby bushland. Six regional sites in the WA Wheatbelt were selected for the project – all located 200 to 300 kms and out of visual line of sight from Sensorem’s Remote Operations Centre.

Sensorem was selected by DJI Enterprise as the testing company for the pre-release DJI Dock 1 in Australia in early 2023. Testing first occurred on an active CBH site in the Avon region, followed by further testing of drone services at a Rio Tinto site in the Pilbara. The technology proved that drone operations could withstand the often-harsh conditions of the Wheatbelt and Pilbara regions and were selected as the solution for the CBH project.

Sensorem’s specialist team of technicians and engineers then developed a custom comms box to accompany the DJI Dock, allowing for low latency video and data streams, together with remote VHF communications in real time. 

Our Drone in a Box (UAV) solution operates seven days a week, from 5am – 8pm, for bird scaring, crop monitoring, grain stockpiles surveys, and inspection, and the team is on call 24 hrs for site security and incident management.

Project Success

Over 2500 BVLOS drone flights were conducted across the first four months of the project alone and CBH experienced a significant reduction in bird numbers, which limited the damage to both the tarpaulin and the grain beneath, resulting in cost savings for the client.

Sensorem’s drone services on this project won the prestigious Innovation Champion – Operation Awards at the 2024 AAUS industry award night in Canberra. The autonomous Drone in a Box solution also proves that the technology is cost effective and easily scalable and can be implemented across the entire receival network. There was a 99% reliability across all the equipment, including drone, drone box, comms box and data stream, back to the Remote Operations Centre.