Project description
Smart drone-based agricultural pesticide spraying to balance drift and quality
Drone-based crop spraying is expanding rapidly but spray drift – where droplets miss their target and contaminate surrounding areas – remains a major environmental and regulatory challenge. Fine droplets improve coverage but drift easily, while coarser droplets reduce drift but compromise uniformity. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the UASS-DDSC project aims to resolve this by developing a dynamic droplet-size control system that dynamically modulates droplet size within a single mission depending on location with respect to field boundaries and on wind conditions. Combining engineering design, modelling and field validation, the project targets up to 20 % drift reduction, directly supporting EU sustainable agriculture goals and responsible pesticide use legislation.
Objective
Unmanned Aerial Spraying Systems (UASS) are rapidly expanding in global agriculture, yet spray drift remains a major constraint, particularly under strict regulatory frameworks such as those in the EU. The key challenge is the inherent trade-off between spray quality and drift reduction: fine droplets provide better coverage but are highly drift-prone, while coarse droplets reduce drift but compromise deposition uniformity. This project proposes a dynamic droplet size control strategy to resolve this contradiction. Within a single spraying mission, the system will apply fine droplets in upwind areas to secure target coverage, and switch to coarser droplets when approaching field boundaries to mitigate drift risk.
The objectives will be achieved by combining engineering design, physical and data-driven modeling, and agronomic validation. A coupled model linking droplet size, drift distance, and environmental parameters will be developed, embedded into a variable droplet spray system, and validated through both semi-controlled and multi-factor field trials. This integrated approach will ensure scientific robustness and practical feasibility. The project is hosted by the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC, Spain) under the supervision of Prof. Emilio Gil, with co-supervision from Dr. Jean-Paul Douzals at INRAE (France). UPC contributes expertise in engineering-based pesticide application and European standardization, while INRAE provides the artificial wind wall platform for drift evaluation.
The expected outcome is a validated strategy that achieves a dynamic balance between spray coverage and drift reduction, achieving up to 20% drift reduction in field trials. This directly supports the objectives of the Directive 2009/128/EC on the Sustainable Use of Plant Protection Products , contributes to the European Green Deal goals for sustainable agriculture, and advances the development of intelligent, environmentally responsible aerial spraying technologies.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture agronomy plant protection
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture sustainable agriculture
- natural sciences computer and information sciences computational science
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering robotics autonomous robots drones
- social sciences economics and business economics sustainable economy
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
08034 BARCELONA
Spain
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.