Treemetrics is taking forestryあhigh-tech with its 3D laser scanning system to accurately measure theあheight, straightness, taper and volume of the trees in a section of forest. Currently measurement is done manually by aあforester walking the ground and using calipers to measure the radius of a sample of trees. Better measurement means that fewer trees can be cut whileあmaximizingあvalue. Treemetrics claims that its system can also reduce measurement costs by 75 percent.
Treemetricsあjust received an innovation award from the Irish Society of Foresters hot on the heels of a special mention from the judges in IBM&'s smartcamp global finals.
TreeMetric&'s CEO Enda Keane told me that ifあthere is one thing that foresters hate doing, it&'s cutting trees. He should know, having worked as a forester himself for 10 years. According to Keane, 20 percent of the value of forests worldwide (or approximately 10 billion Euros) is lost annually due to inaccurate knowledge of the quantity or quality of the timber available before trees are harvested.
Keane first encountered 3D graphics via satellite images, which foresters use to get different views of the forest. Having started the company in 2005 withあGarret Mullooly, he collaborated with research teams at several European universities with expertise on image processing, forest recovery andあoptimizationあto develop the software for the Treemetrics scanner.
A 3D laser scanner works by emitting laser pulses that bounce back from objects in the area, allowing their shape to be measured. The 3D laser scanning machine gathers millions of data points over a 30 meter radius of forest, which is used to construct a 3D model of the trees in that area. Virtual sawmill software can then be used to calculate an optimal logging schedule.
Treemetrics&' system is now used in forests in Ireland,あNorway, Australia, the United Kingdomあand the US. Keane says the company has no direct competitors. Currently aerial photography is the main technology used in forest management in addition to manual measurement. Treemetrics&' business model is software as a service, where users are chargedあ30 EUR cents per cubic meter for measurements alone and 40 cents to use forest managementあoptimizationあsoftware.
The next feature Treemetrics expects to add toあthe software is the ability to connect forests directly to sawmills. This would allow a lean supply chain model to be applied to forestry. Forests would be logged for optimal yield while sawmills would get the right logs in a &''just-in-time&'' manner.
Treemetrics is based in Cork, Ireland, has 7 employees and has receivedあ1.4 million EUR ($1.87 million) in private and government funding.
Next Story: Google launches ebook store with world&'s largest library of titles Previous Story: Taulia raises $3.2M to let companies get an early bird discount with suppliers
Print Email Twitter Facebook Google Buzz LinkedIn Digg StumbleUpon Reddit Delicious Google More&8230'
Companies: IBM, treemetrics
Companies: IBM, treemetrics
Ciara Byrne is a full time techie and part-time writer. She has worked as a software developer, team lead, engineering manager and mobile standards expert. Ciara is based in Amsterdam and her interests include creative companies, useful technology, torture by piano and cycling in high heels. Follow her on Twitter at @deciara.
VentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters. Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.
Discuss Add this link to... Bury
Comments