Monday, November 28, 2022
Resolute has made drones an integral part of mapping and sowing methods for Ontario. These are just a few advantages drones, or remote piloting systems, have over conventional aircraft and helicopters for tasks. Both of which, according to Tom Ratz, Resolute’s planning manager in Ontario, “have a significant carbon footprint, and both are expensive.”
Drones are not new to forestry or to Ratz, whose team of foresters have used them for several years to do short aerial inspections or fly further away to see whether they need to physically enter an area without a road, for example. The newest drones used by Resolute in its woodland operations in Ontario will aid the company in lowering its carbon footprint and may even hasten the process of post-harvest forest regeneration.
High-resolution, current forest imagery
Resolute’s newest drone models are superior to any of the other dozen drones it currently employs in size, speed, and sophistication. In reality, because of their size, weight, and speed, these drones are flown by professionally trained and certified pilots, whose duties include creating flight plans and editing the pictures the drone cameras take. The seeding drone, a Hylio AG-166 multicopter, is powerful. The drone’s sprayer arms, which were removed and replaced with a seed spreader, was constructed in Texas and was intended as an aerial sprayer. It flies like a helicopter, loaded with jack pine seeds, and may begin working as soon as an area has been harvested, allowing the seeds to sprout alongside other species.
The crew needs an accurate, complete, and up-to-date picture of the area before seeding can start. WingtraOne is a drone that can take off and land vertically and can fly at 35 mph (57 km/h), which is eight times quicker than a multicopter. In reality, the Centre for Research & Innovation in the Bio-Economy (CRIBE) provided partial support for both drone acquisitions, in part due to the fact that drones assist cut carbon emissions and because this effort introduces cutting-edge technology to the forest products industry. The WingtraOne, which has a four-foot (125 cm) wingspan and a high-resolution camera, can fly in a sequence of parallel tracks that can be stitched together to create a detailed image.
Tags: carbon footprint, forest imagery, mapping techniques, Resolute, seeding, wood, woodworking, woodworking and manufacturing, woodworking event, woodworking industry, woodworking USA
