6X Sensor Now Compatible with Astro Drone System

ST. PAUL, Minn. – APR. 19, 2023 – Sentera, the industry-leading provider of ag analytics, today announced that its 6X Sensor, which delivers science-grade multispectral data for the ag industry, is now fully compatible with the Astro drone from Freefly Systems, an American manufacturer of unmanned aerial vehicles.

“We’re excited to collaborate with Freefly Systems to innovate and deliver a leading ag drone solution,” said Matt Skelton, aerospace engineer, Sentera. “Astro and 6X both have a history of proven performance and focus on accuracy, both of which are essential to our customers.”

Astro is Freefly’s latest commercial drone platform with high precision RTK/PPK, LTE cloud connectivity, tablet controller, smart batteries, onboard mission computer and more. Astro is designed, tested, built, and supported by the Freefly team in Woodinville, WA.

“Astro with the 6X from Sentera enables the most efficient ag drone mapping workflows. With the ability to map over 250 acres on a set of batteries, hot swapping allows for a quick and easy way to resume your larger automated missions,” said Matt Isenbarger, chief revenue officer, Freefly Systems. “We can’t wait to hear about all the agronomic insights our customers discover in their fields with this powerful new drone + multispectral payload combination.”

Sentera 6X compatibility provides a seamless, integrated, and secure solution for Freefly Astro, delivering no-compromises multispectral imaging. The high capture-rate performance of the 6X results in greater collection efficiency. 6X standard compliance ensures products can be processed via Sentera’s data science ecosystem for deeper analysis, delivering key plant-level measurements and analytics like Stand Count, Crop Health, and Canopy Cover.

“With six independent and synchronized optical paths, custom filtering options, and high radiometric accuracy, the 6X has become a preferred sensor for ag researchers and product developers,” said Skelton. “Extending compatibility to the Freefly Astro presents more versatility for our market, offering a solution built from the ground up for precision, accuracy, and data protection.”

Over the past decade, drones have added substantial value within the agriculture sector – particularly in crop monitoring to provide insight into health and maturity stages throughout the season. The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) projects that agriculture will eventually account for an 80 percent share of the global commercial drone market.

“As we look ahead to the North American growing season, this solution serves as a great fit for agronomic leaders seeking data-driven insights to solve their unique agronomic challenges,” continued Skelton.

The Freefly Astro with 6X is now available for purchase. For more information, visit https://www.sentera.com or https://www.freeflysystems.com.

About Sentera

Sentera helps agronomic leaders maximize every season as the industry-leading provider of ag analytics. With its data science ecosystem, powered by machine learning, Sentera delivers more reliable and scalable plant-level measurements to maximize performance outcomes, which can be informed by aerial imagery captured by Sentera’s drone technology solutions or services. Operating in more than 45 countries, Sentera works with hundreds of customers focused on research, product development, and in-field product validation. For more information, visit https://www.sentera.com.

About Freefly Systems

Freefly Systems is an American corporation that designs, manufactures, and markets drones, camera movement systems, and camera stabilizers. The company’s uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) are flown on a wide range of aerial remote sensing applications. Freefly’s headquarters are in Woodinville, Washington. For more information, visit https://www.freeflysystems.com