MAY 2019 BCBUSINESS 27
COULD THE THREAT OF MACHINES STEALING JOBS BE EXACTLY WHAT B.C. NEEDS?
L
lamaZoo's newest product sees the
forest for the trees and the trees for
the forest.
The visualization tool uses tera-
bytes of data about a planned logging
site fromsatellite and aerial imagery,
geographic information and infrared
surveysto create a 1:1 digital replica of the
area—down to the placement and height of
an individual Western red cedar. With vir-
tual reality glasses and a handset, planners
can lasso a stand of trees and instantly cal-
culate the value of its lumber. They can •y
over hills and gullies, lay out roads and cut
blocks, all without putting helicopters in the
air or people in the woods.
Combining disparate pieces of data into
one interactive picture is what Victoria-
based LlamaZoo does. For its forestry
soft ware, the ‚rm partnered with FPInnova-
tions, a logging industry research non-pro‚t,
and Interfor Corp. for data and product feed-
back. Vancouver-headquartered forestry
giant Interfor thinks the tool will save at
least $3 per cubic metre of wood by cutting
helicopter time, ‚eld days and training, and
allowing for better planning. All of that also
means safer working conditions.
"It will change the way we plan forest
operations, and it will transform informa-
tion sharing with the First Nations and
other stakeholders," says Robin Modesto,
a manager with Interfor's coastal wood-
lands division.
T H E
F U T U R E o f
W O R K
S T O R I E S B Y
STEVEN HUGHES
