"It's a luxury being there when the stars align"

We'll look back on this period and think - that's when it all happened! Mistra, together with the major forestry companies and with academia, is investing heavily in digital development. How far can we go? Very far, I say, and we've only just begun. As companies, by joining Mistra Digital Forest we get direct contact with leading research groups, and the researchers get direct access to the forest as an arena for digitalisation. All of us sharing the latest research, and meeting in advisory councils and development groups enables us to be bolder in our endeavours, as well as learning from each other's mistakes and successes. As the world digitalises in leaps and bounds, we have the support of other industries and other countries.

Fifteen years ago, drones became widely available and accessible to everyone. Along with many others, I thought getting precise images from above would be a great success in forestry and agriculture. But for a long time, their use became the preserve of the specialist, and the drones sat dormant in district offices. Are we anti-development? Well, it's tiring to have to buy a new hard drive for your computer after a drone-flight. And then sit through hours of film in order to record windfalls by hand in the digital drive system. It simply wasn't efficient. But, something has happened in the 2020s. Cameras and sensors have become many times better, batteries so much more powerful.

But most importantly, computing power and AI have made analyses and compilations lightning fast, and cloud services make software and storage available wherever there is coverage. Even the driving systems in our companies have evolved, they are modular and a new smart function can quickly and easily be used with an API or a mapping service. Suddenly, when the storm was raging in Västerbotten on 20 November 2023, an efficient service was available for purchase, a drone that could fly quickly over the storm-affected area.

Useable and high-resolution data is uploaded directly into the harvesting system, not one single long film. Each tree is assigned a position, a species, a diameter and a length. We get volume and yield calculations directly related to our business operations, and based on dimension and season - the right machine in the right place. It’s truly efficient - suddenly flying, data collection, data analysis, transmission and practical application worked seamlessly, and at lightning speed. And in the near future, the world's first thinning operation will be carried out by a remote-controlled semi-automatic drone. The thinning harvesters have high-resolution lasers on their roofs, giving a clear image of which trees to thin. It's so cool being there when the stars align.

(This text was produced entirely without the help of AI. I think we like things not being perfect)

Fredrik Klang, R&D Manager Sveaskog
Chairman of the Industrial Council of Mistra Digital Forest