It can take off and land like a helicopter but is stable like a plane. A new aerial robot is taking to the Swiss skies in what its developers hope will be a game-changer for agriculture.

Developed by Wingtra, a spin-off company from the Autonomous Systems Lab at ETH Zurich university, the Wingtra 1 will be used to help farmers collect data on their land.

"We combined the current technologies of drones, which are quadcopters, and fixed-wings," said Stephanie Lambert, from Wingtra's business development team.

Lambert said the aerial robot can start and land vertically and transitions into forward flight, like an airplane, making it more stable. It has a range of 60 km (37 miles) on a single charge and a cruising speed of 50km per hour.

Wingtra now plans to test its drone with farmers with the aim of launching it in 2017. - Reuters