Huawei, Austrian drone maker Dronetech deepen partnership in smart farming

LINZ, AUSTRIA -- Chinese tech giant Huawei said on Tuesday that it will deepen its partnership with leading Austrian drone maker Dronetech in 5G-powered smart farming.

The two companies, which began their cooperation in the field in 2021, said their collaboration is entering a second phase called "Digital Sky."

In this phase, Huawei will provide cloud computing services on top of 5G to support real-time artificial intelligence (AI) analysis. Meanwhile, Dronetech's drones, equipped with high-resolution cameras and sensors, will survey the land and objects to capture images and data that will be processed by AI and provide instant findings to the users, according to a press release by Huawei.

The Chinese tech company said the technology will help farmers detect small insects, monitor crop status, predict harvests and optimize the use of water, chemicals and pesticides.

Erich Manzer, deputy CEO of Huawei Austria, said "using drones in combination with AI and 5G can solve many resource-intensive operations such as maintenance or area monitoring."

David Hopf, CEO of Dronetech, said that the partnership with Huawei will help enhance farming efficiency, cut labor costs and make food supply chains more sustainable, according to the release.