State-of-the-art geospatial data collection and modelling to assess, monitor and forecast the quality, health and value of local forestlands is the focus of a new NASA-funded project led by the University of Maine, USA. The research team will use remote sensing technology to develop comprehensive models with more detailed, accurate, higher-resolution and near-real-time data on forest-tree species identification, and forest-tree …
Volocopter and John Deere team up with new drone
Autonomous drone-based transportation startup Volocopter has revealed its first partner for its new VoloDrone industrial and commercial electric vertical take-off and landing craft: John Deere . The agricultural and industrial heavy equipment company is working with Volocopter on a VoloDrone-based aerial crop-dusting system. VoloDrone, which Voloctoper unveiled at the end of last year, has 18 rotors and a fully electric …
New Lidar technology unveiled at CES 2020
As you’d expect, DJI had a big presence at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES). But on top of showing off the company’s hardware line-up and handheld imaging systems, the drone industry’s leading manufacturer is introducing a success story from its Open Innovation Program: Livox. Livox has big ambitions in the lidar sensor space. At CES 2020, the start-up introduced …
Southland student set on satellite success
Editors Note: While this press release was first posted in November 2019, it is still worth highlighting the story on ForestTECH.News. Southland’s involvement in the international space sector is set to be boosted by a local student’s innovative idea. Along with juggling study, NCEA exams and part-time work, 16-year-old Gore High School student, Max Balloch has set a goal to …
World’s first autonomous UAV flight under a forest canopy?
An unmanned aerial vehicle made what is believed to be the world’s first autonomous flight under a forest canopy in Rotorua, New Zealand in late November 2019. Remote sensing scientists from Scion have been working with Emesent, a company who specialises in designing automated systems to collect spatial data in challenging environments, to test out the Hovermap navigation system in …
Mapping system for high-resolution tropical forest carbon emissions
For the first time, scientists have developed a method to monitor carbon emissions from tropical forests at an unprecedented level of detail. The approach will provide the basis for developing a rapid and cost-effective operational carbon monitoring system, making it possible to quantify the economic cost of deforestation as forests are converted from carbon sinks to sources. The study was …
500 billion trees by 2060 – using drones
• UK company Dendra plans to plant 500 billion trees by 2060 – using AI and drones.• The drones can plant 120 seedpods per minute.• The WWF estimates we’re losing 27 football fields of forest every minute due to deforestation. A drone can plant two trees per second, according to UK tech company Dendra, which is aiming to “re-green” the …
Lim Geomatics enters exclusive licensing agreement
Lim Geomatics, a software and consulting company that leverages innovative technology to create geospatial products and services in the natural resources sector, and FPInnovations, a non-profit organization that specializes in the creation of solutions that support the Canadian forest sector’s global competitiveness, have developed a strategic partnership to continue blazing an exciting digital trail for the forest industry. Effective January …
Huge autonomous drone completes maiden flight
Another delivery drone has just buzzed into view, and this one’s a giant. Built by aerospace manufacturer Bell, the Autonomous Pod Transport 70 — or APT 70 for short — is a 180-cm-tall Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) aircraft that can carry cargo weighing up to 70 pounds at a top speed of 100 mph. Range comes in at 18 …