ForestTECH is this region’s premier technology series. It’s run for Australasia’s forest resource managers, planners, inventory foresters and GIS and mapping specialists by the Forest Industry Engineering Association (FIEA). Since 2007, it’s the one event every year that focuses on this particular part of the forestry industry.
Forest owners, forestry managers, key researchers and technology providers now also pick up the opportunity of building in their own client meetings, workshops and discussion groups around the event.
Well over 250 delegates attended the ForestTECH series in November 2018. All of the major forestry companies in Australia and New Zealand were represented. With the technology series now well and truly making its mark on the forestry technology calendar, representatives from major Indonesian, Malaysian, South African and South American forestry companies also attended ForestTECH 2018.
The focus for ForestTECH 2018 was “unlocking the true value of data”. New systems for better measuring, managing and analysing this information were reviewed. Emphasis was also put on research findings and operational implementation of some of the key research findings from in-forest trials and the three-year, AU$1.8 million collaborative research project on remote sensing jointly funded by Forest & Wood Products Australia (FWPA), forestry companies, universities and government.
What’s planned for 2019?
Key themes for this year’s event will include;
- Storage, processing and management of “big data”
- Results and lessons from reconciling remote sensing data into the field
- Satellite tools for mapping, planning and operations
- New innovations in mobile forest apps and collection tools
- Results from remote sensing research and in-forest trials
- Workflow solutions for data collected from airborne and UAV systems
- New mapping and GIS applications
- Changing skill sets required by today’s forest resource managers
- The practical application of automation, robotics and sensors by forest managers
- Integrating virtual and augmented reality into forestry operations
At this stage, we’re now calling for early expressions of interest for presenting at this year’s November series. It’s planned to run in Melbourne, Australia on 13-14 November and then again in Rotorua, New Zealand on 19-20 November.
Further details can be found on the www.foresttech.events event website. Information on exhibition opportunities will be sent out in the next month or so. If interested in presenting this year, please contact the Programme Manager, brent.apthorp@fiea.org.nz BEFORE Friday 24 May.
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