This web map compares Pre and Post fire, 3m resolution satellite imagery, of the of the Pigeon Valley Fire 2019, Nelson area. The imagery uses the near-infrared band. Using this display helps the burnt areas stand out to the naked eye. The deep red colour represents healthy forest vegetation. Dark grey/blackish areas are those burned by the fire. Pale pink …

In a paper first published in Nature.com, the authors discuss an interesting applied technology use case, using both drone data collection and AI to allow for the more frequent and accurate detection of specific individual animals or species of animals. The use case is for koalas, which in addition to being cute and cuddly are shy creatures. Koalas reside in …

Showcased at a press conference in Barcelona, Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 augmented reality headset promises more features, better virtual and augmented displays, and a more comfortable experience when wearing the headset. Yes, the HoloLens headset might look as if it has been built for playing video games – not a surprise, given the mixed reality project has its origins in Microsoft …

Guest post by Mark Sheehan, My Drone Authority With the global increase in demand for clean food and other agricultural products, Australian farmers and ranchers are finding that drones are returning critically-needed information on the health of their enterprises. Drones are quickly proving their worth in an otherwise time- and labor-intensive industry. Here is how drones are being used in …

CSIRO’s Data61 has announced the opening of its new Robotics Innovation Centre in Queensland, a purpose-built research facility for robotics and autonomous systems, an industry set to be worth AU$23 billion by 2025. Data61 is one of the global leaders in the field, with capabilities ranging from legged robots and 3D mapping through to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned …

Developing tree breakage models is a key parameter in the modelling of forest yield.   To model the height at which a stem breaks during harvesting and before log-making can start, allows for correct allocation of recoverable stem volume in which logs can be made from.   This is one of the Biometric methods which are used to during the log-making process together …

Society is undergoing enormous disruption due to the continuous adoption of new digital technology and the forest industry is poised to take advantage of some of these. But successful replacement of longstanding and proven technology and forestry systems and meeting new information needs doesn’t happen by chance, and there is considerable risk to avoid failed implementations, waste of money and …

If you don’t think drone deliveries are going to take off (excuse the pun), think again. While the U.S. and Europe inch closer to drone delivery, China is racing ahead. China’s leading e-commerce company, JD, has launched an agressive trial that the company says will lead to 50% of its packages being delivered by drone. Xinhua.net reports that New Year’s …

Israeli drone provider Airobotics has secured the first-ever approval by Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority to operate drones beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) from a remote operations centre. In addition, the unique waiver allows the company to operate without the need of an air crew on site, making it the first such waiver issued by CASA. Remote pilots are …

Finnish pilot develops new solution for sustainable forestry Europe is feverishly looking for new ways to use farm, forest and fishery resources more responsibly and sustainably and to promote the production of the best possible raw materials in order to increase the availability of food, energy and biomaterials. VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd, the Finnish Forest Centre and …

Land Information New Zealand develops tool to enable public to help fight spread of wilding conifers, which can threaten productive farmland, native ecosystems, tourism, economy; Wilding Watch can be used to find new infestations and upload photos. A new tool to enable the public to help fight one of New Zealand’s most invasive species has been created by Land Information …

Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, has announced that it would be extending its Earth observation capabilities by acquiring Australia’s first CubeSat designed to detect invisible infrared light. To be known as CSIROSat-1, the new satellite will allow researchers from CSIRO and other institutions to ‘see’ features that can’t otherwise be seen using satellite imagery in the visible spectrum. Although the …

Scion, New Zealand’s CRI for forestry and wood products,has a new top-of-the line lidar scanner – the Riegl MiniVUX-1 UAV Snoopy V-series manufactured by LidarUSA. The new piece of equipment has higher resolution and accuracy than Scion’s current scanner, and has an increased range. Being able to capture data at greater than 60 m above ground (and up to 120 …

Using voxel-based analysis of aerial lidar is a promising new development in remote sensing. In the past, high-density lidar has largely been restricted to terrestrial laser scanners. Now, high-density scanners are being mounted on helicopters and UAVs flying close to the tops of forests to provide very fine-scale imagery of trees. This kind of scanning generates very dense point clouds …