From the left: Jacob Hjalmarsson, Markus Drugge and Josef Carlson
Arboair is the winner of the innovation competition What Wood You Do
On September 24, the final of the international innovation competition “What Wood You Do”, was decided in Karlstad. The winner was Arboair, which uses drones, colour shift analysis and artificial intelligence to scan the forest for infected or stressed trees.
Bark beetle infested trees are one of the most costly and fastest growing problems in the forest industry right now. By identifying the damage in time, it is possible to prevent the bark beetle from spreading further in the forest.
Arboair has an inventory method for detecting infected or stressed trees with the help of drones that take pictures of the forest and colour shift analysis with AI. The technology means that doing the inventory count of the forest is ten times faster than with traditional methods on foot.
Benefits for climate and economy
The drones can also reach remote areas, often inaccessible for forest owners. This is a most up-to-date solution that benefits the environment and contributes to solving a problem that costs several million euros in economic value, in Sweden alone.
As the first prize winner, Arboair receives EUR 25,000 to take their idea to the next level.
“Thanks to the prize we will, among other things, be able to work with research and technology development. It would enable us to develop an even more efficient solution that is crucial to the next bark beetle season and in the long run contributes towards the transition to a digitized, sustainable forest industry.” says Josef Carlson, Marketing Director at Arboair.
Watch the final
You can now watch the final and award ceremony on YouTube. Just follow the links:
Part 1: Introduction, Biosorbe, Wood Tube and Arboair >
Part 2: SilviBio, Nordluft, FineCell and audience polls >
Paper Province’s CEO Sandra Sundbäck announced the winner
About What Wood You Do
On March 16, Paper Province announced an international competition – What Wood You Do – focusing on ideas that strengthen and develop the forest-based bioeconomy. The competition was organized with support from Gunnar Sundblad’s Research Fund, Stora Enso and Sveaskog. Second to fifth place is rewarded with EUR 2,500 each.
