Performance Evaluation of Multi-Rotor Drone Systems for Precision Agriculture in India: Efficiency, Accuracy, and Operational Constraints

Abstract

The adoption of multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems for precision agriculture has increased in India due to the demand for data-driven farm management under smallholder and fragmented landholding conditions. Despite of the growing deployment, empirical evaluations of field-level performance under Indian agronomic, environmental, and operational constraints remain limited. This study presents a systematic performance evaluation of a representative multi-rotor agricultural UAV, focusing on the efficiency, the positional accuracy, and operational limitations.

Field experiments were conducted in representative agricultural environments using standardized flight parameters, sensor configurations, and mission planning protocols. Performance metrics included flight endurance, area coverage rate, positional accuracy, payload-induced stability variation, and data acquisition consistency. Data were collected across varying payload conditions, crop patterns, and environmental settings to ensure the reproducibility and the contextual relevance. Statistical analyses were applied to quantify performance variability and assess associations between operational parameters and system outputs.Results indicated that multi-rotor systems achieved high positional accuracy and maneuverability in small and irregular fields, particularly when operated with RTK-enabled positioning. However, flight endurance and coverage efficiency decreased non-linearly with increasing payload weight and wind speed, with thermal constraints further limiting operational continuity at ambient temperatures exceeding 35°C. Battery-related limitations and logistical downtime were identified as primary operational constraints.