ForestTECH News Issue 27 Summary

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 capture and forest management leaders. Registrations are now open and there are some great early-bird discounts as well as half and one-day workshop options that have been opened up to the industry this year. Further details are available below.

In other news, we look at a new shirt with built-in sensors that are being designed that promises to increase worker safety and reduce fatalities in the forest. Another technology making waves within the sector is virtual reality. Already discussed at previous ForestTECH events, the University of Tasmania has demonstrated that virtual reality can be used by forest workers to accurately perform tree stem assessments. This technology is being rolled out with operational trials being undertaken with Australian forestry companies this year.

We have a couple of stories this month covering UAVs. Wing, which has been testing drone flights in Australia for seven years, has just announced a new set of software products for drone pilots to improve flying safety. Beyond Visual Line of Sight drones, one of the more promising concepts in the commercial drone world today, have been used North-West Russia to cover an area of 18,000 hectares in just four days. We also cover recent advancements with the US company, DroneSeed (who will be presenting as part of this year’s ForestTECH 2019 series) on using swarms of drones for automating tree planting and spraying in forestry operations.

Enjoy this month’s issue.