Rapid Forest Triage by Sub-Canopy Micro Air Vehicles

Today, tree distribution maps can only be generated manually in a very time-consuming process, and real-time microclimate mapping of a large 3D volume under tree canopy is not possible. A prototype small quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system was developed that is able to maneuver in cluttered environments like forests, and under tree canopy to map tree distributions from 3D point clouds gathered from an onboard stereo vision system. The UAV uses a small onboard sensor board to record micro-climate parameters during flight.