Pioneering Use of Industrial-Grade Drone Provides Comprehensive Health Assessment of World’s Largest Known Living Tree
In May, a collaborative effort by the US National Park Service, Giant Sequoia Lands Coalition, and other groups led to a pioneering health check-up for the General Sherman tree in Sequoia National Park. This monumental project marked the primary time an industrial-grade drone was used to examine the world’s largest known living tree.
Volunteers began by scaling the tree with ropes and using satellite imagery to evaluate its condition. Nevertheless, the highlight of the inspection was the deployment of Freefly’s Astro Prime drone, a state-of-the-art, NDAA-compliant, and Blue UAS-approved platform. This drone performed an in depth examination of the tree, which stands at a powerful 275 feet and is over 2,200 years old.
The Astro Prime drone was equipped with various swappable payloads, including a Lidar scanner and an HD video camera. These tools allowed the team to quickly and safely inspect the tree for damage, particularly from a native bark beetle. This beetle has been a big threat to trees in the world, exacerbated by climate change and prolonged drought conditions.
Considered one of the important thing features of the Astro Prime is its use of Doodle Labs mesh rider radios. These radios establish a resilient datalink, ensuring the drone stays connected and fully controlled even in off-grid environments. This technology also allows for the reliable transmission of high-bandwidth data back to the bottom.
The success of this project demonstrates the potential for drones in environmental monitoring and land management. The Astro Prime’s capabilities and NDAA-compliant status will enable the US Forest Service and other Department of Interior groups to adopt this technology for future land mapping and inspection tasks. This method guarantees to be faster, safer, more efficient, and scalable in comparison with traditional manual processes.
For more information concerning the industrial use of drones, visit Doodle Labs.
Watch the drone inspection in motion:
This flight was performed with express permissions from the suitable agencies, ensuring that the operation adhered to all vital regulations and safety protocols.
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