Forest inspection with autonomous drones

Researchers at Luleå University of Technology will investigate how AI can improve the understanding and interpretation of information during forest inspections with the help of drones.

Many areas of use in forestry

Inspecting forests using drones is already being done, but analyzing the collected imagery using artificial intelligence is not as developed. Self-flying drones will become increasingly common in the future, especially in inspection assignments and when it can otherwise be difficult to get around, for example, in dangerous environments. The fact that the drones are fully automated leads to higher efficiency, reduced costs and minimized risks of personal injury.

Using autonomous drones in the forest industry in particular has many advantages. It can be anything from getting help in categorizing trees to detecting forest fires. The drones can detect tree diseases, such as infestations by bark beetles, which makes it possible to quickly remedy the further spread of pests in healthy forests. Another area of use is to be able to warn of winds and storm-felled trees that, for example, block roads.

World-class research

The work, which takes place within the framework of an EU project, is a collaboration between the Robotics Group at Luleå University of Technology and the Skellefteå-based company Conifer Vision, a company that works with AI strategies for image analysis in forestry, renewable energy and the mining industry.

The robotics group, which will primarily carry out the work, is world-class in terms of robotics and drone technology. They work to demonstrate the use of robots under real conditions and fully connected to real needs. The research group has extensive experience of field robotics, i.e. robots operating in realistic environments outside laboratories and in their work, they will use the latest technology in computer vision and location of drones.

Optimize forest management

The aim of the work is, among other things, to evaluate aerial photos and look at how to use AI in forest inspection. Roger Öhlund, CEO of Conifer Vision, says: – Today, ever higher demands are placed on forestry from a climate perspective. The system we are now developing will be autonomous and self-learning and contribute to objective and quantitative assessments to identify and optimize necessary forest measures for forest asset management.