The MicaSense Altum captures six bands – red, green, blue, red edge, near-infrared and thermal. The capture of these bands happens at the same moment, making the data easier to align and use for analytics. Also, because there are six bands, data from Altum can be used to create anything from NDVI to digital surface models to thermal heat maps.

DISEASE IDENTIFICATION

By collecting both multispectral and thermal imagery, Altum can identify diseases before symptoms are visible since the early signs of disease are first apparent in the red edge band and can result in small temperature changes.

PLANT CLASSIFICATION

The Altum sensors  capture high resolution images that specialized software and algorithms can use to classify plants in a given field by size, species, and canopy closure.

SPECIES DIFFERANTIATION

Some differences among species may not be visible to the naked eye. High-quality multispectral data allows for species differentiation by highlighting characteristics such as chlorophyll content, vigor, and leaf size.

PLANT COUNTING

High-resolution multispectral data can feed algorithms information for plant counting, saving farmers hours, and making yield predictions more accurate.

WEED DETECTION

Analytics developed with multispectral data can identify and highlight weeds, as weeds may have a different spectral signature than the planted crop.

ADVANCED CROP SCOUTING

High-quality multispectral imagery provides advanced field scouting capabilities. In one flight, it is possible to collect accurate and geotagged information of a problem, making easy to assess the situation and determine the appropriate intervention.

TERAIN MODELLING

One of the advantages of a calibrated multispectral sensor is the generation of aligned outputs, which can be used to create digital surface models (DSM). A DSM provides insights into water management, land uses and terrain elevation.