AI-Powered Autonomous Herding Drone HerdDrone Enters Commercial Operation in New Zealand: Single Drone Manages 3,000 Head of Cattle
New Zealand agritech company Robotics Plus's HerdDrone autonomous herding drone completed its first commercial operating season on New Zealand's North Island, with a single drone managing the herding of 3,000 cattle over 8 hours of flight time, reducing shepherd labor costs by 80%.
AI-Powered Autonomous Herding Drone HerdDrone Enters Commercial Operation in New Zealand: Single Drone Manages 3,000 Head of Cattle
Robotics Plus published the results of HerdDrone's first commercial operating season on November 25. HerdDrone is an autonomous drone purpose-built for pastoral farming, equipped with a thermal imaging camera, GPS tracker, and high-frequency speaker. Its AI algorithm identifies cattle positions and behavioral states, using specific frequency sound signals to guide herd movement.
On a 3,000-hectare ranch in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island, a single HerdDrone completed the task of guiding 3,000 head of cattle from one paddock to another within 8 hours of flight time. Previously, this work required two sheepdogs and a mounted herder spending four hours.
HerdDrone's AI system can identify individual cattle by ear tag numbers, monitor health conditions, and automatically alert the rancher when it detects abnormal behavior such as limping or straying from the herd. Robotics Plus's CEO stated that HerdDrone is priced at NZD 28,000 (approximately USD 17,000) per unit, with a payback period of roughly one grazing season. Ranchers in Australia and Argentina have already begun placing orders.
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