Climate resilience
Starts with Forest Health
We’re upcycling invasive forest pests into biochar using aerial robotics to restore forest health.
Why forest pests?
Covering over 30% of the Earth, forests are vital for mitigating climate change. Invasive forest pests threaten forest stability, costing the US over $4 billion (more than $400 billion globally) in the annual damage caused to economies, ecosystems, and human health. Using remote sensing and AI reporting, we’re turning these pests to waypoints for targeted removal with computer vision and aerial robotics.
Once geofenced, forest pests are removed and upcycled to biochar to promote new plant growth. A soil health multiplier, biochar may even hold the key to reversing PFAS contamination, which has contaminated agricultural soils across the world.
First up, the Browntail Moth
Native to Europe, the Browntail moth (pictured here in their caterpillar life stage) is currently infesting 50,000 acres of Maine forest, and has entered New Hampshire for the first time in 75 years.
The toxic hairs of Browntail persist in the environment for up to three years, causing itching, breathing distress and eye damage. Between hazards to human health, and their threats to biodiversity through defoliation, Browntail are first on our list.
As we prototype aerial robotic removals for Browntail this January 2025, we’re also building bioMonitoring solutions to geofence the Emerald Ash Borer and Asian Longhorned Beetle.
Preparing for drone-based, scalable Browntail removal.
Aerial robotics offer two immediate benefits: preparing the training data for effective autonomous drone removal, and making the current removals safer for arborists at height.
Remote removal of Browntail nests (which overwinter in tree tops) is significantly safer for workers than manual removal, particularly when working near high voltage.
Video streamed from the robotic arm allows dextrous operation from the comfort of a climate controlled ground station. The system learns with each trim, constantly improving scalability for remote drone operations, to treat infested trees inaccessible by aerial platform.
What is biochar?
Organic matter becomes biochar when exposed to high heat in the absence of oxygen, a process known as pyrolysis.
Once forest pests have been removed with their woody biomass, they are burned in a mobile biochar trailer, producing biochar on site. Biochar benefits are simultaneous, holding water, capturing nutrients, and reducing compaction.
For trees that would otherwise succumb to pest pressure and release carbon during decay, AI-aided tree surgeons transform forest parasites and their sampled woody biomass into biochar, holding that carbon in the soil for millennia.
Moreover, using activated biochar as sorbents may be critical in capturing and removing PFAS, supporting the response to damaging chemical compounds found in farming soils and water systems.