AirForestry Achieves Groundbreaking Milestone in Forestry: Drone lifts tree!

UPPSALA, 17 November 2023 - In a thrilling advancement for the forestry sector, AirForestry, renowned for its pioneering work with drone technology for harvesting trees, has recently showcased that its drone can attach to a tree top and lift a tree trunk. This feat underscores the tremendous strides the company has made in revolutionizing forestry operations, offering a glimpse into the future of sustainable and efficient timber harvesting.

"We're quite literally elevating the future of forestry," said Dr Mauritz Andersson, CTO and Cofounder of AirForestry. "Harvesting trees from above using drones was once thought impossible. Today, we're turning that vision into reality, demonstrating not just the technological feasibility but also the environmental advantages of our approach."

The innovative system, encompassing a 6-meter heavy-duty drone, a unique harvesting tool, A.I.-based automation, and a control station, represents a significant leap from traditional logging practices. As demonstrated in the attached video, the drone first navigates to a thinning site, precisely identifies a tree using computer vision, and subsequently employs the harvesting tool to grip the tree's top. Utilizing gravity, the tool descends the tree, defoliating branches and leaving them as natural forest nourishment. The culmination of the process sees the harvesting tool cutting the tree trunk with an electric chainsaw, then the drone flies the tree trunk to a designated collection point by the roadside.

"Our solution is not only about big drones. It's about sustainability, efficiency, and ensuring minimal impact on our precious forests," Dr Andersson continued. "Being fully electric, our drones leverage high-performance batteries and on-the-go charging stations. The tool's lightweight design, paired with the drone's impressive 200-kilogram payload capacity, ensures an efficient and eco-friendly harvest cycle."

The company's journey, from founding and the first prototype in the summer of 2020, to the full size drone’s inaugural flight last summer, through the rigors of a Swedish winter at temperatures plummeting to -20°C, has been filled with noteworthy milestones. Each of these steps has been critical to the company's current triumph: a drone that can lift trees and transport it to the nearest road without inflicting damage on the forest floor.

In the words of Dr Andersson, "This is what the future of forestry looks like. We're reinventing forestry for good, and this is just the beginning."

For a real-time look at AirForestry's revolutionary drone in action, view the attached video.

We'd like to express our sincere gratitude to our partners and sponsors, including The Swedish Energy Agency (Energimyndigheten), The Swedish Innovation Agency (Vinnova) and Europe’s largest forest owner Sveaskog. Their support has been instrumental in our advancements.

Contact
For further questions about AirForestry, contact the company at phone +46 70-049 78 47 or press@airforestry.com.

About AirForestry
AirForestry's ground-breaking technology makes it possible to thin forests in a completely new way, from the air. The company's innovation makes it possible to run fossil-free, gentle and more productive forestry. We contribute to reducing carbon dioxide emissions from forest work while increasing the forest's ability to bind carbon. By creating better forests, we contribute to a more sustainable society - economically, environmentally, and socially. It's not just our primary goal but also our main driving force.
Learn more at www.airforestry.com, watch our videos here, and follow us on LinkedIn for the latest.

AirForestry - Harvest trees with drones # Reinventing Forestry

What we do: Forest thinning from above with electric autonomous drones for more productive, resilient, and beautiful forests. 

Founders: Olle Gelin, Mauritz Andersson, Markus Romar, Caroline Walerud. 

CEO: Olle Gelin 

Location: Uppsala 

Employees: 24 

Year Founded: 2020 

Net Revenue: 1.5 MSEK in total since inception 

Financing: 65 MSEK in total, split between venture capital, grants, loans, and customer revenue. 

Major Shareholders: The founders and Walerud Ventures. 

Milestones and Innovations: We have the world's lightest harvesting tool, which hangs from the drone and trims and saws the tree. Proprietary drone optimized to lift 200 kg (thinning trees weigh 40-140 kg). Flight permit from the Swedish Transport Agency. 

Competition: Most of Sweden's thinning is done with ground-based forestry machines. They weigh up to 30 tons, damage the ground, require 5 meter wide access roads to reach the trees to be thinned, provide a poor work environment, and burn 200 liters of diesel per day (3.5 billion liters of diesel globally per year). 

Awards: Norrsken Impact/100 winner of Public Vote, World Economic Forum Top Innovator, Techarenan Business Award, 33-listan, etc. 

Collaborators and Sponsors: Sveaskog, Tele2, Vattenfall, Vinnova, SkogForsk, The Swedish Energy Agency, etc. 

Work with us! See https://careers.airforestry.com/