Analysis of using unmanned aerial vehicles in forestry

Abstract

Unmanned aerial vehicles are a growing market within the forestry industry. They provide opportunities for enhancement of data collection, monitoring of wildlife, forest fire detection and monitoring, compliance monitoring and more. Unmanned aerial vehicles is not a new idea however with technology advancements the users are becoming more common and continually expanding into all aspects of life. This study was conducted by a S.W.O.T analysis to determine if the strengths of UAVs outweigh the weakness for the use of forest management. The greatest limitation to UAVs in forestry is the increasing rules and regulations. As it is becoming a popular tool more certification is required to operate the UAV and new rules are constantly being implemented. UAVs will become a great asset to foresters as the provide safe, accurate and fast results.