We built Skippy Scout as a way to make field walking/crop scouting more efficient through the use of affordable drone systems, which many farmers and agronomists already own.
Think of it as a much faster, more detailed way to scout crops/quadrat sample. It’s like the the field scouting apps you get on your phone, but your phone can fly around the field…
Skippy Scout is a subscription based service, with pricing starting at £30 per month. You have to pay for each month you intend to use the app.
However, while we don’t offer ‘seasonal’ price plans, you can pause your subscription anytime via the website. While paused, you can’t use the app, but you won’t pay anything either, then simply resume you subscription when you want to start using Skippy again.
Yes/kind of, we have testers all over the world! Skippy in general should work anywhere in the world, however we are testing and developing it in the UK market first.
Our field boundaries system currently works in Europe and the USA. More areas will be available soon, and we are also adding a manual field boundary entry system, that will mean it will work anywhere!
Yes!
Sphere accuracy relies on accurate GPS and Compass information.
We recommend that before the first flight, you do each day, you do a drone compass calibration via the DJI Flight app. You should also do this if your next flight is more than 10 miles from your previous location.
You should also wait for a full 100% GPS lock before flying, if possible!
We’re focused on DJI drone systems, for now. The need to be compatible with DJIs SDK (software development kit – more info here!)
Please see the Android and iOS app pages for info on what is currently supported.
The best right now are the DJI Air 2 or Air 2S drones. Mini drones will work, but have limited range. Mavic 3 is not yet compatible, we have started work on brining the Mavic 3 Enterprise into Skippy Scout – this will be a game-changer for Enterprise level crop scouting at volume.
We will soon be supporting other manufacturers. If you make drones, feel free to get in touch!
Much faster. Skippy can cover about 2 hectares per minute with your drone, capturing high resolution images at 2 points per hectare.
These are all downloaded to your phone as your drone flies, so you can look at them as soon as they are taken and analyse for GAI etc, much in the same way you would use your phone camera to take a pic with a standard scouting app. Think of your drone as a flying phone camera!
In most cases the answer is: far enough. Not very specific we know, but there are a lot of factors to consider. Legislation in most countries means you cannot let a drone go beyond where you can see it, or about 500m, enough to cover a average field in the UK.
Of course terrain and field size do vary. Hills can block signal, and other countries have much larger fields. If Skippy looses a connection to your drone, it will return to its take-off location.
So where a longer range is needed, we recommend installing a longer range antenna on your drone controller, which will increase the range/penetration through hills etc. Contact us for more info
In the UK current rules state that if you are a farmer and you are operating a drone on your own land, you do not need a license. Though you must operate within the law/flight restrictions – see question 9.
If you are operating a drone for some kind of commercial gain, and not on your own land, then you will need certification in the form of a PfCO. Please talk to our partners at Heliguy for more information.
Finally, the rules are changing at the end of this year! Soon operating a small drone in rural areas classed as low risk (ie not near an airport) will not need a license, commercial or otherwise.
The Drone Safe app is great for checking. Also Skippy will soon have all these built-in, and wont let you fly where you shouldn’t
If you’re using your drone only on our own farm, then it’s up to you, but we recommend making sure your you have public liability cover at least.
Your current farm insurer may well already cover you, or offer it as an add-on, so check that first. Otherwise see below!
If you are operating in locations other than your own land, under a commercial license and/or want to cover your equipment, you should get a proper insurance package. There are quite a few options, however…
