Welcome to the latest issue of Foresttech.news. It has been a busy month and we have a wealth of stories in this issue. First up, is the release of the full programme for November’s ForestTECH 2019 technology series. With over 250 attending each year, the 2019 event is shaping up as a who’s who of local and international forest data …
ForestTECH News Issue 26 Summary
Welcome to the latest issue of Foresttech.news. The highly anticipated programme for November’s ForestTECH 2019 series will be released later this month. Event registrations will also open shortly, with big early-bird discounts available. We have an international cast of experts at both the New Zealand and Australian events and a wealth of new technologies and case studies will be on display. Several ‘hands-on’ …
NZ forestry farm prices increase
The median price of forestry farms across New Zealand has increased by 45% over the last year from NZ$6,487 per hectare to NZ$9,394 per hectare according to the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) source of the most complete and accurate real estate data in New Zealand. This increase may be largely the result of the Government incentives to …
SpaceX goes big for launch
SpaceX, the rocket company founded by Elon Musk, successfully launched in May its first five dozen Starlink telecommunications satellites. This is the first step in the Starlink project, which aims to create an ultra-fast global internet service. SpaceX broadcast the inaugural Starlink mission, which launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket at 10:30 p.m. ET. A little more than an hour after liftoff, …
World-first robotic logging truck scalers
The world’s first two automated logging truck scalers, commissioned by Mount Maunganui-based ISO Limited, are now scanning logs at Port of Tauranga, New Zealand. The Robotic Scaling Machines (RSM) give a faster, safer and more accurate measure of logs on the trucks and trailers than the manual process. Tauranga-based agritech company Robotics Plus designed and built the automatic logging truck …
ForestTECH News Issue 25 Summary
Welcome to the latest issue of Foresttech.news. As mentioned last month, we have started working on the programmes for this November’s ForestTECH 2019 series. Programmes for both Australia and New Zealand are now close to being finalised, so if you are interested in participating, please contact Brent Apthorp on brent.apthorp@fiea.org.nz as soon as possible. We’ll bring you news in next …
First satellite fleet to monitor CO2
Europe is readying a new fleet of satellites that will monitor CO2 emissions at every point on earth, creating the first worldwide system to independently track polluters. The fleet of three satellites is slated for launch in 2025, in time to inform the UN’s global stocktake of greenhouse gas emissions three years later, the European Space Agency (ESA) confirmed to …
Victoria’s largest acquisition of forest LiDAR
Victoria’s largest ever acquisition of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data across 1.35 million hectares of Victorian public forests has just commenced. This work will provide important information for supporting decision-making during the RFA and forest modernisation process. Mapping the location and density of high-conservation value forests, such as ecologically mature forests and rainforest, with the assistance of the LiDAR …
NZ$14M to expand LiDAR mapping across NZ
The Bay of Plenty is one of the eight regions that will receive co-funding from the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) to obtain LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) elevation datasets. Eight Regional Councils, in partnership with their Territorial Authorities and others, have applied for and will receive NZ$14 million of co-funding from the PGF to obtain LiDAR elevation datasets. Land Information …
How do I successfully launch a mapping drone?
In Waypoint’s newest segment, Ask Andrea, senseFly’s Product and Training Manager, Andrea Blindenbacher, answers questions on launching and landing a mapping drone, such as why it’s important to take off and land against the wind and what do if something unexpected happens during your landing approach. I get this question a lot, and with fixed-wing drones, such as the eBee …
How Drones are attracting new graduates
This article relates to how young tech savvy graduates are now being attracted to the oil and gas industry. Transpose the oil and gas industry to forestry. There is an important message here. The image displayed is from a recent forestry open day run for interested school students in Southland with a young local forestry company representative (Matt Cotterrell, City …
ForestTECH News Issue 24 Summary
Welcome to the latest issue of Foresttech.news. ForestTECH 2019, Australasia’s premier forestry technology series, will be running again for forest resource managers, planners, inventory foresters and GIS and mapping specialists. At this stage, we’re now calling for early expressions of interest to present at this year’s November event. If interested, please contact the Programme Manager, brent.apthorp@fiea.org.nz BEFORE Friday 24 May. …
Australian business leaders’ eye AI boost but 46% yet to act
New research into Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a growth driver for Australian businesses, today revealed that just over half of Australian organisations (54%) have started to adopt Artificial Intelligence (AI) as part of their business strategy, despite 80% of Australian business leaders believing AI is important to their organisation’s competitiveness over the next three years. The study found that Australia …
AI to double the rate of innovation in NZ
By 2021, Artificial Intelligence (AI) will allow the rate of innovation in New Zealand to double. Employee productivity gains are also expected to increase 1.5 times, according to a new AI study released by Microsoft, in partnership with IDC Asia/Pacific. The research, “Future Ready Business: Assessing Asia Pacific’s Growth Potential Through AI”, found more than three-quarters of business leaders polled …
Treemetrics ambitious plans for growth
Forestry software company Treemetrics intends to double, if not treble, its workforce over the coming 12 to 18 months as it embarks on a plan to drive revenues from €1 million to €40 million by the end of 2022. The Cork-based company, whose clients include Coillte, the World Bank Group and the European Space Agency, is lining up a multi-million …
Canada’s supercluster to help forest resource management
Lim Geomatics is thrilled to play a part in the next chapter of Canadian innovation that will see homegrown companies play a much bigger role in the world economy for big data and digital technology. The rubber recently hit the road for Canada’s Innovation Superclusters Initiative—the $950-million federal government plan for jumpstarting public-private collaboration to accelerate global competitiveness—with the announcement …
ForestTECH News Issue 23 Summary
Welcome to this latest issue of www.foresttech.news. Thanks for the feedback on the new video section of our website. Videos drawn from recent presentations at ForestTECH events (with speaker approval) and clips from more recent articles and reports will be added to what’s there during the year. Your contributions, of course, are welcomed. Building on the theme of last year’s …
A look at the Nelson Fires 2019
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 …
Using drones and AI for koala management
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 …
Making augmented reality your business reality
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 …