Centre of Drone Excellence opens in Vic

Asia Pacific's first drone hub, the Centre of Drone Excellence (CoDE), has opened at Lardner Park near the Victorian town of Warragul. The hub will focus on drone technology, training and development and help pursue a sustainable development agenda in Victoria's Gippsland region.

Drones have revolutionised the agricultural sector and have been instrumental in enhancing various operations, from crop spraying to soil analysis. Farmers around the world have discovered that drones are not only easy to use and relatively inexpensive, but also extremely useful for monitoring the health of their fields and pinpointing areas in need of water, fertiliser or pesticides.

Institute for Drone Technology Director, Paul New, hopes to capitalise on the huge growth forecast for the sector and promote the benefits of using drones in agricultural practices.

"Application of drones in agriculture alone is estimated to be worth an enormous $32 billion globally," New explains to farmmachinerysales.com.au.

"To satisfy world demand for food, close collaboration between governments, technology firms and agribusiness has to be reinforced and developed, hence the Centre of Drone Excellence, (CoDE). And the centre has plenty of beautiful space to fly!"

A key objective of CoDE is to create opportunities for students in regional Australia.

"Students will be able to put themselves in almost a cutting-edge position for future jobs and industries," says New.

"Drones are something that regional Australia can truly own and be at the world forefront."

Indeed, this week CoDE appeared at the Jobskills Expo at Larder Park – an event that attracted over 2100 regional-based students. The expo targets Year 9 and 10 students and VCAL students in the Latrobe City, West Gippsland, South Gippsland and Bass Coast regions.

It aims to engage young people with hands-on activities, advice and information about the various jobs and industries in the regional area.

"It was a great day and there was a clear interest in drones and almost a surprise [from the students] with regards to the opportunities available," New says.

There are certainly great prospects for drone applications in the Australian agriculture sector and the facilities at Lardner Park will be further developed based on stakeholder engagement and feedback.