The recognition of objects within images is a technology within the field of computer vision. A practical application within the forest industry is counting logs. Once I heard about an app that would do this it seemed like an obvious application for this technology (it was only obvious to me after I was told about it!). Last year a colleague …
€1M for real-time satellite coms & data-analytics platform
Coillte, Ireland’s national forestry company, has announced a major €1 million contract agreement, with Cork-headquartered Treemetrics to roll out a pioneering real-time satellite communications and data-analytics platform for forestry harvest control. An Taoiseach Enda Kenny T.D was joined by Coillte Chief Executive Fergal Leamy and Treemetrics CEO and co-founder Enda Keane in Government Buildings to mark the agreement (photo). The …
Early expressions of Interest – ForestTECH 2017
The ForestTECH series has been run annually by FIEA since 2007. It is now firmly established as the technology event where forest resource managers, remote sensing and GIS specialists and inventory foresters from throughout Australia and New Zealand meet. ForestTECH has become the annual platform for showcasing; new remote sensing technologies, advances in satellite imagery, mobile communications developments, systems for …
Is the new iPad a bargain for field users?
Earlier this month Apple released a new iPad with a 9.7” screen at a price that makes it appear to be a bargain when compared to the 9.7” iPad Pro. But will field users find it to be a suitable alternative to the other offerings from Apple? The short answer is “no”. Apple is now offering four iPad Models. 12.9″ …
3D HoloLens for fire-fighting?
Those attending the MobileTECH 2017 event a couple of weeks ago were introduced – and were able to put on to test out – the very latest HoloLens, Microsoft’s augmented reality (AR) viewer. The opportunities for our own land-based industries for AR were (excuse the pun), eye-opening. For the first time, unmanned aerial systems and holograms are helping fight wildfires. …
Unmanned helicopters on a data collection mission
In many forests, the collection of information pertaining to the wood remains neglected, due to a shortage of specially trained personnel, specific expertise, funding, or appropriate technology. A project funded by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) aims to put small, unmanned helicopters to work, measuring the parameters for the forest inventory. In forest inventory, it is currently not possible …
Satellites map carbon sequestered by forests
Led by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, the EU North State project has developed a new method of using satellite images to evaluate the forest carbon balance. The carbon balance indicates how much carbon is sequestered or released by forests each year. This enables the carbon balance to be displayed on digital maps, with an accuracy of up to …
Remote sensing to assess pest and pathogen damage
In a recent review by Christine Stone, NSW Department of Industry – Lands and Caroline Mohammed, University of Tasmania, developments and applications in remote sensing that can improve the accuracy and timeliness of health assessments in plantations managed for timber and pulp production were assessed. The detection and mapping of damage extent and severity caused by insect pests and fungal …
Why agriculture drone solutions deserve a closer look
A myriad of innovative new technologies around sensors and the collection and use of data from drones were showcased at the MobileTECH 2017 event run for primary industries in Rotorua in March of this year. Foresters and resource managers late last year at the ForestTECH event run in New Zealand and Australia were also given updates on research and trials …