Scout 2.0, the GPS Ag entry-level product for aerial surveying tasks, won the prestigious Agribusiness Innovation of the Year Award. 

GPS-Ag managing director Luke Schelosky said the company was proud to win.

"Aerial survey gives farmers the opportunity to gather new information about their farm and provides the data to assist with critical decision making," he said.

"The award-winning breakthrough in UAV technology we saw on display at the Wimmera field day showed the future possibilities and pointed to potential beyond our imagination."

The Scout comes in a pre-assembled kit that is ready to be flown in a matter of minutes and is equipped with a camera gimbal designed for professional videography. 

Stable images are guaranteed in winds up to 25km/h. Travelling at a speed of up to 20km/h and for an estimated 17 minutes per battery charge, the Scout covers about 30 to 40 acres per flight.

The Scout kit includes a high-definition GoPro3 camera, providing clear images and video footage.

“We can now give the farmer a new perspective on the crop, livestock and farm infrastructure,” Mr Schelosky said.

“This extra operational intelligence is possible for a minimal time and cost investment.

"Crop and livestock health, pest and weed monitoring, irrigation efficiency and crop yield predictions are just a few of the benefits that can be gained from aerial surveying.

"As a result, a farm runs at higher efficiency and becomes immediately more profitable”. 

While unmanned aerial vehicles were a buzz word in the industry, the image processing technology and detailed analysis were "where the magic happens". 

GPS Ag’s new equipment includes state-of-the-art camera systems primed to deliver high precision image processing and analysis technologies.

Mr Schelosky said The Scout was the first in GPS Ag’s line of aerial survey vehicles, to be closely followed by the ‘Hex 2’, a larger unmanned UAV.