GERMANY – Aerial images have been used in forestry for decades to perform a variety of tasks, such as forest inventories or mapping damage after disasters.

Today, very small unmanned aircraft that can fly autonomously – known as drones – can be employed. Using drones to capture image data enables operations to be planned flexibly and at short notice, thus ensuring that image products are quickly available. Thanks to their low flight altitude, drones can fly even under heavy cloud. Moreover, their quiet and energy-efficient electric motors are not only environment-friendly but also reduce the impact of noise on humans and animals. Equipped with a high-resolution camera or sensors, drones bridge the gap between arduous field surveys on the ground and costly bird’s eye view surveys carried out by manned helicopters or aeroplanes. Their growing success is helped by the fact that the industry’s solutions are becoming more cost-effective and the performance of the flying robots is constantly improving.

According to a study conducted by the McKinsey Global Institute in May 2013, drones – as part of robotics – are already influencing important economic factors such as labor costs, productivity, flexibility and safety. Its efficiency, cost-effectiveness and ease of use open up major future potential for the multicopter. Powered by an environment-friendly electric motor, which results in low noise levels and low emissions, multicopters are an innovation that is perfectly in line with the requirements of contemporary technology. The topic will also be presented at LIGNA 2015 on open-air demo site run by the German Forestry Council (KWF).