Forest and agriculture

Aerial mapping with optical sensor systems

Vegetation affects life on earth in many ways, as plants are key to Earth’s natural ecosystem. At the same time, the targeted use of plants in agriculture and the timber industry is essential for providing food and energy for the world’s growing population. Optical sensor systems that capture large areas with cameras or LiDAR from the air (aerial mapping) can help detect changes in the state of vegetation and support the profitable and sustainable use of agricultural resources.

»Precision farming« und »precision harvesting«

With concepts such as precision farming or precision harvesting, agriculture and forestry are already relying on modern sensor systems. Satellite or aerial remote sensing are used to observe the state of the plants according to the vegetation index. The measurement data is then used to create land and forest use plans. However, the temporal and spatial resolution of this data is rather limited. More accurate data relies on – inefficient – manual data recording.

Fraunhofer IPM develops airborne and terrestrial monitoring systems for the fast and efficient measurement of forest and agricultural areas. Various sensors are integrated into the robot or UAV/drone platforms of these optical systems.