Farmers that have integrated drones into their operations like the convenience and time-saving qualities of the technology for various tasks, such as scouting fields and checking in on livestock. However, an oft-touted use – aerial applications – is still struggling to gain widespread adoption. Many farmers complain of small payloads and short battery life that they feel isn’t worth the time or money. Startup “Rotor” says it has developed an autonomous helicopter that eliminates these pain points, though agriculture wasn’t the use that its developers initially had in mind.
Rotor’s “Sprayhawk,” developed in partnership with precision navigation company “AG-NAV,” is a Robinson R44 helicopter that has been heavily customized. For starters, the four seats that would normally be inside have been removed to make room for an array of flight and communications systems used to operate that chopper remotely. It’s also outfitted with 33 foot spray booms and a 110-gallon capacity tank. Additionally, it features camera and LIDAR sensors for obstacle detection and wire avoidance.
According to Rotor’s website, Sprayhawk integrates state-of-the-art spray path planning from AG-NAV to spray automatically and precisely at a full 65 foot swath width. The Sprayhawk can cover around 240 acres per hour with spraying speeds of over 80 miles per hour. The helicopter also runs on gasoline and has about a 50 minute flight duration between refuels. And just like a standard helicopter, it can take off and land vertically, and is operable by a minimal ground crew of just two people.
Rotor claims the Sprayhawk matches the performance of manned aircraft in terms of spraying speed and capacity, while significantly reducing operating costs and enhancing safety. And safety is a major issue when it comes to aviation in agriculture.
So-called “cropdusting,” or aerial application, is dangerous work. Because crop dusters fly at around 150 mph and only about 10 feet off the ground, pilots are at risk of colliding with power lines, cell towers, trees, and other planes. Older, poorly maintained planes and pilot fatigue contribute to accidents. According to the National Agriculture Aviation Association, since 2014, there have been nearly 640 agriculture operation accidents, including 109 fatalities.
When Rotor CEO Hector Xu first started the company, his initial intention was to simply make helicopter flight safer by using autonomous technologies. Xu envisioned unmanned helicopters being used to remove pilots from the dangerous flights, such as those fighting fires or rescue operations during inclement weather.
However, Xu says he started getting a lot of inquiries from people that wanted to use the autonomous helicopter for crop dusting and it became obvious there was a “huge untapped market. Xu said the company is also developing helicopters that would carry cargo in disaster zones and to offshore oil rigs but for now is mostly focused on agriculture.
Rotor is opening up orders for the 2025 model Sprayhawk to customers in both the U.S. and Brazil, with delivery slots available for late 2025 and early 2026. The company aims to have as many as 20 Sprayhawks ready for market next year. The list price for a Sprayhawk is a hefty $1.5 million but for those who place their orders before December 15, the introductory price is set at $990,000. Learn more at Rotor.