Research Fronts on Plant Protection Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) from the Joint of Papers and Patents

Plant protection unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has been greatly developed since the new millennium, and therefore many new technologies and products have emerged. It is difficult for researchers to seek key technologies and fronts from millions of publications. This paper established a process of publication search strategy and took plant protection UAV as an example to test the strategy. The search strategy of combination of paper and patent is a feasible method for screen research fronts. Agronomy and crop science is the most widely used field of plant protection UAV, followed by forestry and horticulture. China is a leading country on plant protection UAV and contributes most of the publications. South China Agriculture University, Shenzhen Dajiang Technology Co. Ltd. and Spanish National Research Council are among the top organizations. The fronts of plant protection UAV include detection and recognition of target and variable spraying, droplet deposition and drift, flight path design and anti-crash function, releasing of nature enemy.