The thunder of cattle on the move is a familiar sound in the paddocks of Queensland's vast outback — but at this muster, there's not a motorbike, horse or helicopter in sight.
Mr Chaplain is a fourth-generation grazier from Malakoff Station near Cloncurry and has been pushing the limits of agricultural drone use since 2017."It's case by case, but people are integrating this into their business and seeing success." Kale Robinson, 36, has been mustering all his life and owns Eastfield Station, 88km north of Muttaburra.
Each docking station houses a drone that has the capacity to land, recharge and take off as programmed. Mr Chaplain said the approvals that were required had limited the widespread adoption of the remote technology, be he hoped that would change."I've got an application in to get a mobile remote operation centre so that I can set up and operate a drone from a docking station from wherever I have that remote centre set up," he said.Grazier Kale Robinson said he was sceptical at first but had been impressed by the results.