Automation is coming to forestry, get used to it

WHETHER WE LIKE IT OR NOT, FORESTRY is heading for some big changes in the future as many of today’s processes become automated.

It’s something we cannot avoid, but we do need to endorse and plan for the disruption that automation is likely to bring, says Graeme Muller, Chief Executive of technology planning organisation, NZ Tech.

At last month’s Woodflow 2018 conference in Rotorua, Mr Muller highlighted the pace that new technology has already followed in recent years, citing the oft-quoted Moore’s Law about the doubling in power and halving in price of computer chips every couple of years.

For example, an ordinary smart phone today has more computing power than NASA at the time of the moon landing in 1969.

Mr Muller says all businesses, including those in forestry, will need to be aware of three major advancements that are already making their presence felt today; Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain and Virtual Reality.

Machines fitted with Artificial Intelligence will have the ability to learn and adapt to their use and environment, becoming better at the work intended for them.

Blockchain is a set of protocols or rules that enable people to do new things, taking the middle-man out of the equation and it’s predicted to have as much influence on our lives in the future as the internet does now.

Virtual Reality is also touted as a gamechanger for businesses, enabling training and planning to be undertaken without the person needing to actually be there.

How industries like forestry react to these new advancements will also be crucial, says Mr Muller, adding that certain jobs will be replaced, but it will be important for employers to retain those people and train them to do other tasks and provide them with new skills to help them flourish in an automated world.

Another speaker at the conference, Internet NZ’s Chief Executive, Andrew Cushen, says it will also be vital for businesses to learn how to cope with and make good use of the ‘explosion’ of information that is becoming available from the equipment and systems we use in the forest.

Everything will be fitted with sensors, from the trees themselves, to the harvesting and loading equipment, to trucks carrying the logs to market and we’ll be able to track, plan and manage the flow of wood much better because “everything will talk to everything else – there’ll be no more guesswork”.

And, he adds: “There’s money on the table to be had from getting on board and knowing how to use it to your advantage.”

* If you are concerned that connectivity in the forest will be held back by lack of signal communication, Mr Cushen says Rocket Lab’s ability to put satellites into orbit cheaply will cover that.

NZL