Welcome to the latest issue of Foresttech.News.
The last couple of months has changed the face of the planet. COVID-19 has highlighted just how exposed we are to viral pandemics and how interconnected the global economy is. There are some positive signs though. Both the New Zealand and Australian Governments have responded to the crisis perhaps better than other countries. We’re hopeful that shortly we’ll be in a position to slowly reopen our economies.
While there are welcome signs, COVID-19 will still be the new normal for many months to come.
Based on the positive signs we’re already picking up, we’re pleased to announce that the plan is to run this year’s ForestTECH 2020 as scheduled in early-mid November. Expressions of interest to present at ForestTECH 2020 are now open and we look forward to working with you on this year’s programme. Note, this year, based on your feedback from last year’s event, we’re also integrating part of the series to cover forest establishment and silviculture, as well as remote sensing, data capture and inventory management. For international speakers who may not be able to travel, there will be a virtual component to the event to ensure everyone can participate.
In further news this month, there are some interesting stories on the use of AI. Chile’s largest telecommunications company is building an IoT sensor network within forests to detect particles in the air. They’re using AI to predict forest fires. A new start-up, CollectiveCrunch, has also just secured funding to use AI to accurately predict wood mass, wood species and wood quality from forest mapping. In addition, the University of Maine has developed an app which uses machine learning to process map data and provide better visualisation of near real-time data.
Another important story to note for Australians. CASA has announced new drone registration and accreditation requirements that will impact operators of drones over 250 grams.
Read all the above stories and more in this month’s issue. Remember, you can also send through any contributions, stories or links that we can pass onto the wider community. Stay safe.
Check out all the articles below and enjoy this month’s issue.
Stories this issue:
- ForestTECH 2020 – Early Expressions of Interest
- Entel AI and DataRobot use AI to fight forest fires
- App to visualize & interpret spatial data for forest planning
- What is Airborne Hyperspectral Imaging?
- NASA’s new global groundwater maps
- Part 2 – How to leverage constant monitoring and in-field analysis
- Drone Dictionary — Essential Terms Every Pilot Should Know
- CollectiveCrunch gets €500K to expand its forestry technology
- Australia to introduce drone registration & accreditation
If you haven’t already, you can subscribe to this email newsletter.
Share this Post
