A system and method to distribute pesticides, fertilizers, water, and other materials on a farm with accuracy and precision is disclosed in order to combat the problems imposed on the environment due to over-fertilization and over use of pesticides. This system and method is a social networking control system in which multiple farms have independent grids of sensors capable of detecting the presence of pesticides, fertilizers, water, and other materials in the air, in the top-soil, and in the groundwater. These grids of sensors detect the location and concentration of these materials and reports them back to a social control system for analysis. The control system regulates the deposition of further chemicals through computer control of the chemical dispersal systems.

An unmanned aerial vehicle includes a central body having a plurality of sides and a plurality of arms extendable from the central body. Each arm is configured to support one or more propulsion assemblies that provide a propulsion force while the unmanned aerial vehicle is in flight. The arms are configured to transform between a flight configuration in which the arms are extended away from the central body and a compact configuration in which free ends of a first subset of the arms collectively define a rectangular area. Free ends of a second subset of the arms are closer to a yaw-axis of the unmanned aerial vehicle than the free ends of the first subset of the arms. The yaw-axis passes through the rectangular area.

The invention is intended for the organization of an automated process for spraying of liquid means of chemical treatment from unmanned vehicles, for example, in precise farming systems. The use of a replaceable, marked and hermetically sealed liquid subsystem in the spray device of the invention, along with an integrated self-diagnosis system, using compressed gas energy and a pressure regulator instead of standard pumps, reduces the weight of the spraying device, improves spraying accuracy, ensures personnel safety and accounting of the accumulated life resource of the main units of spraying devices. All this in combination enables to create fully automated spraying systems.

A spray assembly includes a spray bar, a spray head assembly, and a connection base. The spray head assembly is connected to an end of the spray bar. The connection base is connected to another end of the spray bar and configured to fix the spray bar at a frame of an agricultural plant protection machine. The connection base includes a flexible connection base. The connection base is configured to cause the spray bar to swing relative to the frame in response to the spray bar being subjected to an external force.

A method for controlling a spreading apparatus includes obtaining a target degree of opening and a real-time degree of opening of a material outlet of the spreading apparatus, determining whether the real-time degree of opening of the material outlet is abnormal based on a comparison result between the real-time degree of opening and the target degree of opening, and transmitting an alarm signal to a remote control device in response to the real-time degree of opening of the material outlet being abnormal.

A spray head assembly includes a spray head body, a cover, a pressure relief adjustment member, and a seal assembly. The spray head body includes an inlet flow channel and an outlet flow channel. The cover is mounted at the spray head body and includes an accommodation chamber. The pressure relief adjustment member is configured to cooperate with the cover. The seal assembly is accommodated in the accommodation chamber and includes a seal valve plate, a connection member, and an elastic member. The seal valve plate is configured to connect the inlet flow channel and the outlet flow channel. The connection member is connected to the seal valve plate. The elastic member configured to provide an elastic force to the connection member, such that the seal valve plate is normally closed.

A powder/granular material spreader that allows easy cleaning of a passage for powder/granular material includes a housing that houses motors, a passage that extends through the housing and provides a passage for the powder/granular material, a roller provided in the passage to feed the powder/granular material and that is driven by one of the motors, and a spinner driven by the motor to spread the powder/granular material. The passage includes an integral first wall that shields the motor from the passage, an integral second wall that shields the motor from the passage, and an opening located at an inlet of the passage. The opening is integral with the first wall and the second wall. The housing includes an integral cover that covers tops and sides of the motors, and fits over an outer surface of the opening. A seal is provided at a location where the opening and the cover are connected with each other.

A method and a device for measuring a spray area are provided. The method includes obtaining flight data of an unmanned aerial vehicle when performing a spray operation. The method also includes according to the flight data and a spray amplitude of a spray nozzle on the unmanned aerial vehicle for spraying, determining the spray area of the spray operation.

A spraying apparatus includes a driving mechanism having a driving shaft rotatable around its own axis and a spin plate disposed at a bottom of the driving shaft. The spin plate is configured to rotate with the driving shaft to spray chemical solution. The driving mechanism includes a stator assembly, a rotor assembly and a housing assembly. The housing assembly includes a first housing member and a second housing member. The first housing member and the stator assembly are connected; the rotor assembly is connected to the second housing member; the first housing member is connected to the second housing member by snap-fit; and a bottom side of the second housing member is provided with a water inlet pipe that is connected to an internal of the spin plate.

An unmanned vehicle capable of operating in harsh environments is disclosed. The unmanned vehicle includes an aerial platform, a piloting system supported by the aerial platform, a medium source supported by the aerial platform, and a control system having a processor running computer executable code that actuates the medium source to emit a medium away from the aerial vehicle with an intensity sufficient to disorient a subject when the medium interacts with an exteroceptive sense of a subject.