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    FAA is giving commercial drone operators the green light

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    Greg Nichols, Contributor

    Greg Nichols
    Contributor

    Greg Nichols covers robotics, AI, and AR/VR for ZDNet. A full-time journalist and author, he writes about tech, travel, crime, and the economy for global media outlets and reports from across the U.

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    There can be little doubt that the FAA is paving the way for a framework governing the widespread operation of commercial drones in the U.S. In advance of a definitive ruling on whether commercial drones can operate beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), the FAA has been busily granting case-by-case permission to drone operators for exactly that.One recent example, just announced, drone company American Robotics has added seven additional sites of operation approved by the FAA for its automated BVLOS drone technology, the Scout System. American Robotics has 10 operational sights across eight U.S. states.”American Robotics is excited to have seven additional sites of operation approved by the FAA. As we continue to build upon our offerings, we look forward to providing current and future customers with the tools needed to unlock scalable, autonomous drone operations that will help propel their businesses and critical industries forward,” says Reese Mozer, co-founder and CEO of American Robotics. “Not only is this a milestone for American Robotics, but it is also another signal that we have reached an inflection point in commercial drone operations in the United States, and American Robotics is proud to be at the forefront of these industry advancements.”Elsewhere in the commercial drone sector, Percepto, which offers autonomous inspection by industrial robotics, recently announced it will deploy autonomous drones to monitor Florida Power & Light’s substations and power distribution grids across the state. The deployment represents the largest commercial autonomous drone project in the world, a staggering feat given the relatively slow pace with which the FAA has moved to adopt a framework.Not surprisingly, both Percepto and American Robotics are on the FAA’s industry-focused BVLOS rulemaking committee, which is tasked with helping the FAA adopt a regulatory framework for wider commercial drone adoption. The companies that invested early in that process are reaping early benefits from their friendly stance toward the FAA. The FAA previously issued a nationwide waiver for Florida Power & Light to fly Percepto drones for surveillance and inspection purposes at sites owned and serviced by FPL. The Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) has provided its regulatory recommendations to fully incorporate highly automated BVLOS operations flights in US national airspace, a process that is expected to take place in the months ahead.For players like Percepto and American Robotics, eventual approval will open the floodgates. The FAA has been very deliberate in its progress (slow in the eyes of some in the sector). “Every step by American Robotics toward full autonomy is significant: autonomous drones provide continuous, real-time information,” says David Boardman, CEO of Stockpile Reports. “With zero touch, high frequency automated data collection, the bulk materials supply chain will be transformed as we can provide answers to enable real-time decisions at any site. This approval is a critical turning point in addressing the market demand for continuous information.” More

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    Jack in the Box turns to robots to solve staffing challenges

    Written by

    Greg Nichols, Contributor

    Greg Nichols
    Contributor

    Greg Nichols covers robotics, AI, and AR/VR for ZDNet. A full-time journalist and author, he writes about tech, travel, crime, and the economy for global media outlets and reports from across the U.

    Full Bio

    Flippy 2.0 prepares curly fries for Jack in the Box.
    Miso Robotics
    A few weeks back my kids went bananas for a robotic server at a local California Pizza Kitchen. For my next feat of parenting magic, I just might stop by Jack in the Box.

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    There are some things that machines are simply better at doing than humans, but humans still have plenty going for them. Here’s a look at how the two are going to work in concert to deliver a more powerful future for IT, and the human race.

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    That’s because the company known for its round-headed mascot is piloting a fry cook robot and an automatic beverage dispensing robot, with the potential to further integrate the technology in the months ahead. The robots are from fast food automation company Miso Robotics, and the addition of Jack in the Box to its growing list of pilot customers, which includes major national chains like Chipotle and White Castle, marks a milestone in the whirlwind rise of a crowdfunded company that seems to be effectively giving fast food over to the robots.”Beginning our journey with a premier brand like Jack in the Box is an enormous step in our commitment to helping restaurants increase throughput, reduce costs and create a safer environment for their staff,” says Mike Bell, CEO of Miso Robotics. “From tacos and curly fries to fountain sodas, the future is now for Jack in the Box, and we are ecstatic to serve as the company’s technological arm to assure a quality product gets into its customers hands every time they order.”The story behind the story here is the rapid automation of the quick serve restaurant industry, which is reeling from labor shortages and struggling to keep up with high demand coming out of the worst lockdowns of the pandemic. There’s now a real sense that momentum is shifting toward robotic systems to add greater efficiency to human-led, front-of-house operations.Miso is on a bit of a tear, having recently announced a tortilla chip making robot in partnership with Chipotle, an autonomous coffee brewing station that will be used in Panera locations, and an ever-expanding footprint for its flagship fry cook Flippy 2.0. Automation seems well paired with rising takeout demand during a pandemic-influenced tight labor market. Delivery, takeout, and drive-thru orders in particular have increased the need for speed just as demand is booming, and restaurants are having trouble keeping pace.Jack in the Box is a prime example. In an explanation for integrating Miso, the company cited staffing challenges impacting operating hours and costs. Back-of-house operations improve restaurant-level economics and alleviate the pain points of working in a high-volume commercial kitchen. “This collaboration with Miso Robotics is a steppingstone for our back-of-house restaurant operations. We are confident that this technology will be a good fit to support our growing business needs with intentions of having a positive impact on our operations while promoting safety and comfort to our team members,” said Tony Darden, Chief Operating Officer at Jack in the Box. “We are looking forward to testing Flippy 2 as our new hire at our San Diego location!”Interesting to note, the conversation around automation integration within the quick serve space has in part shifted away from careful couching by robotics firms about how automation enhances employee satisfaction. With the labor market tight, the talking points are shifting more firmly toward issues of efficiency, predictability, and cost savings. Miso is one of the most notable crowdfunding success stories. The company is primarily funded by individual investors and counts over 18,000 shareholders accounting for more than $50MM in crowdfunding to date. More

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    Japan approves Zipline drone medical deliveries

    Zipline
    Residents of Japan’s remote Gotō Islands will have new access to medical supplies. That’s thanks to Japan’s first-ever routine, commercial long-distance drone delivery route.The route comes via a partnership with Toyota Tsusho Corporation, a member of the Toyota Group, and Zipline, a drone logistics company. The rollout is the latest in a long line of international firsts for drone delivery that seems to be pointing toward a nearby future of routinized aerial delivery. Zipline’s fixed-wing drones drop packages via parachute.

    “The Toyota Group has a decades-long track record of excellence across transportation and logistics; now, they’re ready to take on the next frontier of mobility,” said Keller Rinaudo, co-founder and CEO of Zipline. “Together, we’re taking an important step toward unlocking the impact of autonomous instant logistics technology in new use cases, new airspaces and entirely new geographies.” Medical supply deliveries will commence from a distribution center in Fukue Port. Zipline has been setting up similar distribution centers around the world, but this marks the first in Asia as well as the first to be operated by a partner company. That expansion is noteworthy and indicative of the softening regulatory and compliance situation regarding drone delivery in many markets. With the ability to partner and turn over operations of drone delivery services, companies like Zipline are on pace to scale rapidly.The distribution center will be the disembarkation point for medical supplies and drugs to pharmacies and hospitals across the Gotō Islands. Pointedly, these are long-distance flights that will travel beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS). Successful drone delivery depends as much on logistics and backend warehousing capabilities as hardware. Zipline offers end-to-end delivery services.”The Toyota Group has a decades-long track record of excellence across transportation and logistics; now, they’re ready to take on the next frontier of mobility,” said Keller Rinaudo, co-founder and CEO of Zipline. “Together, we’re taking an important step toward unlocking the impact of autonomous instant logistics technology in new use cases, new airspaces and entirely new geographies.”In the U.S., the Beyond Visual Line of Sight Aviation Rulemaking Committee (BVLOS ARC) of the FAA recently published its final report. The committee is charged with paving the way toward broader commercial use of drones in the U.S., and its findings are being widely applauded by many in the sector who have sought a broader scope for commercial drone operations, including in applications like search and rescue and delivery. More

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    The coffee robot your mornings deserve

    Miso Robotics’ CookRight Coffee system. 
    Miso Robotics
    Coffee is one of those habits around which much ritual has cropped up. You go to the cafe, if you’re lucky your barista knows your order and gives you a warm smile, and you savor that first delightful sip. So are we ready for a robot to take charge of our brew?That’s the bet that Miso Robotics, whose dexterous robot fry cooks are already slinging burgers and chicken wings at fast food restaurants, is making. Miso is launching a new coffee system and the first partner is Panera Bread.

    To be sure, technology and coffee are no strangers. From pods to Aeropress, the hunt for a perfect cup has gone on as long as beans have been roasted. Panera is betting the efficiency and quality of a system that continually monitors coffee status using AI and customized metrics will appeal to patrons. The subplot here is the rapid automation of the quick serve restaurant industry, which is reeling from labor shortages and struggling to keep up with high demand coming out of the worst lockdowns of the pandemic. There’s now a real sense that momentum is shifting toward robotic systems to add greater efficiency to human-led, front-of-house operations.”Panera has a long history of tech innovation in service of meeting the needs of our guests and associates when they walk through our doors each day,” said George Hanson, SVP and Chief Digital Officer of Panera. “CookRight Coffee is a game changer when it comes to convenience and operational efficiency, and we are extremely excited to take our coffee station into the future with Miso Robotics.”Miso is on a bit of a tear, having followed up its burger robot, Flippy 2, with a tortilla chip making robot in partnership with Chipotle. Automation seems well paired with rising takeout demand during a pandemic-influenced tight labor market. Delivery, takeout, and drive-thru orders in particular have increased the need for speed just as demand is booming, and restaurants are having trouble keeping pace. As I’ve written, one of the big draws for national brands at this early adoption stage is Miso’s strategy is the speed and efficiency of a robotic system paired with unseen levels of customization. For Panera, Miso’s CookRight Coffee system monitors coffee volume and temperature to brew at precisely the right time. Panera in turn can support a club-style membership program that gives members unlimited coffee and tea for $8.99 per month.Miso previously partnered with Lancer Worldwide, a global beverage dispenser manufacturer, to roll out what’s described as an intelligence-backed, automated beverage dispenser.All of this has made Miso a popular investment with the crowdfund crowd. The company is a crowdfunding success story with over 18,000 shareholders and $50MM in crowdfunding to date and a Series E market valuation of $500 million.  More

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    Smart sweat: Peloton's AI is the future of home fitness

    Peloton Guide
    Peloton
    AI is driving the future of fitness, and companies like Peloton are leveraging the technology to enhance products and improve experiences for users. But what role will AI and data play in the future of at-home and connected fitness, and how it will increasingly shape the landscape?

    Peloton Guide (Peloton’s first connected strength device) is a good case study. It uses computer vision and machine learning technology to create focused and well-rounded training experiences from home. Guide’s Movement Tracker can recognize a user’s activity, encouraging and keeping them motivated to keep up with the Instructor’s cues.AI is now a core tenant of Peloton and many other major home exercise brands. For insights into the future of smart connected home fitness (and some deeper understanding of just how embarrassed we’re going to feel at a machine’s consoling prods), I connected with Sanjay Nichani, Peloton’s VP of Artificial Intelligence and Computer Vision.GN: Across the market, where are we seeing AI intersect with fitness?Sanjay Nichani: This is a great question because we’re seeing AI intersect with fitness more and more with consumers and their experiences. AI is something we’re continuing to tap into at Peloton, and as we continue to conduct research, test products and speak with more people, including our Members — we’re able to unlock additional ways that AI can improve the at-home fitness experience. Specifically, we see that AI can be used to drive convenience, accountability, motivation, education, gamification, competition, collaboration and social connection within the fitness market.GN: Can you describe Peloton’s development history with AI? When did it first become a priority, and how has it grown in importance?Sanjay Nichani: Working with the latest technology is always top of mind for us because we’re always looking to enhance the Peloton experience. We’ve been working with AI for a few years now, starting, of course, with our class recommender system. You’ll really see AI take center stage with Peloton Guide since it is our first connected strength product. AI drives the experiences such as the Self Mode so that you can see yourself on the screen next to the instructor, Movement Tracker that gives your credit for following along with an instructor, and Body Activity that powers class recommendations to ensure you are working all muscle groups evenly. GN: How is machine vision aiding Peloton’s offerings? Can you explain what the Guide product is and how CV and ML help shape the user experience?Sanjay Nichani: Peloton Guide connects to any TV to transform the biggest screen in any home into an interactive personal training studio. Once it’s connected, Members have access to Peloton’s world-class instructors who lead a wide range of fun-yet-intense classes and programs that use dumbbells and bodyweight. Since Members and experts told us that they derive motivation from their metrics, we’re using AI for Guide’s Movement Tracker.It’s really cool to see Guide’s Movement Tracker using Computer Vision activity recognition technology to recognize a Member’s activity as they follow along with the Instructors and complete each move throughout the class. For example, during a class, an Instructor will have a plan where they’ll be coaching Members through different movements like bicep curls for 30 seconds or squats for 45 seconds. Guide recognizes the activity and metric-driven accountability to our members to keep them motivated to keep up with the Instructor’s cues. Additionally, with Self Mode, Guide’s smart frame technology where the camera automatically pans and zooms on the member working out, you can see yourself on screen and compare your form to the Instructor’s. Peloton Guide also shows members’ muscle groups they have recently worked on with a new feature called Body Activity. With this feature, Peloton will then recommend classes focused on the muscle groups that haven’t been trained in awhile to help Members have a more well-rounded training experience.GN: Have there been any interesting learnings or insights from customer reactions? Have you changed course in any way based on unexpected findings regarding user experience?Sanjay Nichani: One interesting insight in various user and field testing trials was the value of having a bounding box around the person detected; this established a strong connection of the member to the Guide (proof that the Guide had detected the member, “seen them” and they were now locked. This simple visual feedback was far more valuable than perhaps displaying a skeletal pose that was too busy and distracting, taking away from their exercise experience, or otherwise swinging to the other end, where nothing was displayed, which made users feel disconnected.) From the very beginning, data-driven insights have been baked into not only our company culture but into the products we produce. For example, our strength Members who are creating a gym experience from the comforts of their home without a human coach may not hold themselves accountable. The Members and experts we talk to often tell us that little feedback and motivation they get from the metrics is what keeps them going, e.g., you did x number last week, and this week your number went up. This is exclusively a result of our cutting edge AI technology, Guide’s Movement Tracker. Our AI teams ensure that customer needs and feedback are woven into our product planning and assessment. We work with a number of other departments — Systems Engineering, UI/UX Design, User Research, QA, Field Testing — to ensure that the way AI is implemented within our offerings is directly addressing the need of our consumers. GN: What does the future of home fitness look like (for Peloton and beyond)? How are AI and MV helping shape that experience?Sanjay Nichani: Honestly, we’re just scratching the surface of how AI  technology can impact fitness. Our AI teams ensure that customer needs and feedback are woven into our product planning and assessment. We work with a number of other departments — Systems Engineering, UI/UX Design, User Research, QA, Field Testing — to ensure that the way AI is implemented within our offerings is directly addressing the need of our consumers. We have a top-notch cross-functional team optimizing and diversifying our CV and ML tools to usher in new, safe and fun ways to practice fitness. You can also see a future where CV and ML can help create more personalized content or offer real-time feedback. There’s a lot of potential with the technology, and for Peloton, we’re going to continue experimenting. On day one Guide is going to provide a really different and motivating strength experience. But because Guide is because it’s built on CV and ML, we have an opportunity to keep iterating and making the product stronger with more features, exercises and disciplines. We’re continuing to conduct field testing and have plans to keep updating Guide. 

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    How this former robot pizza unicorn reinvented itself around sustainable packaging

    Worker inspects sustainable packaging.
    Zume
    A fleet of robots and some fancy sustainable material may point the way to solving a vexing problem: How to reduce harmful single-use packaging materials, which include not just plastics and polystyrene but also chemicals used to line cardboard packaging.

    The company in question is Zume, and you might remember the name from its first life as a pizza-making robotics firm once valued in the billions. After trying to scale its end to end automated pizza business too quickly, the Softbank-backed brand pivoted went through major layoffs and then pivoted to sustainable packaging. With a breakthrough partnership with global robotics leader ABB, as well as a new partnership with Solenis, a leading global producer of speciality chemicals, Zume is launching a line of 100% PFAS-free compostable packaging for the food packaging industry, capping off a major brand reinvention.Why is this important? Ever looked closely at the inside of a cardboard takeout box? That sheen keeping your lo mein from soaking into the cardboard is most likely PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), widely used chemicals commonly found in sustainable food packaging. These toxic chemicals bind to proteins in the soil, transmit up the food chain and have been linked to a slew of health risks.”Until now, an economically viable solution for brands to transition from plastic and foam packaging hasn’t been available,” said Zume CEO and Chairman Alex Garden. “Our patented molded fiber manufacturing equipment system and technology enable us to offer sustainable packaging at the same price or less than plastic. This partnership with Solenis advances efforts to eliminate single-use plastic and enables brands to keep commitments to stop using PFAS.”Also: Robot fry cook gets job at 100 White Castle locationsZume and Solenis have been working together to innovate molded fiber solutions to replace entire categories of single-use plastic without harmful chemicals. Part of the breakthrough here is a robotics-enabled manufacturing process, something that’s given single-use plastics manufacturers a leg up when it comes to pricing single-use packaging. Under the terms of the new partnership, Zume will provide its advanced molded fiber manufacturing capabilities and professional services, and Solenis will supply expertise in functional additives and surface coatings to increase the strength and functionality of Zume’s fiber recipes making them adequate for a broad array of commercial uses.Initial products will include cups, bowls, plates, premium egg cartons, coffee cup lids, protein trays, and yogurt cups. ABB’s robots will automate production and enable the scale and speed needed to make Zume’s sustainable packaging. More

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    How Walmart gained the advantage in drone delivery

    DroneUp
    Swinging back against the Bezos behemoth and searching for every advantage in an increasingly digital world, Walmart is looking to the skies. Drone delivery is coming, and Walmart is using its vast geographical footprint in a modern game of retail Risk.As the FAA increasingly embraces commercial drone operations, drone delivery in the United States is closer than ever to reality. In concert with company DroneUp, Walmart has rolled out the first of its drone “Hubs,” which are co-located with Walmart stores. Walmarts have 90 percent of the U.S. population within 10 miles of their stores, and each store is optimized for that particular area’s audience.

    Walmart invested in DroneUp last June, signaling the retailer’s commitment to drone services for the long haul. This isn’t just about retail. In a bid to integrate Hubs with the local communities they serve, drone services are also being delivered, including community resources for law enforcement, insurance inspections, infrastructure inspections, and other use cases that businesses in those areas need from a drone. This is a big move for Walmart and a coup for DroneUp, which has been expanding its drone services offerings.”First, you have to understand the role of the Hub and why positioning those relative to Walmarts is so valuable,” Tom Walker, DroneUp’s CEO, told me recently. “The goal is to be able to successfully deliver products that people want store-to-door consistently, and in order to do that, it’s important to have access to an inventory of products that are readily and consistently available despite supply chain issues.”Here’s where Walmart’s baked-in regional fluency is a big advantage. Walmart stocks in-market products for the audience in and around the Hub locations. Positioning these Hubs next to Walmarts gives DroneUp direct access to tens of thousands of SKUs that are specifically designed for the demographic audience in and around that location.”After the order is made,” said Walker, “the product is brought from the store to the Hub, loaded onto the drone then flown in an optimized route to the home. We deliver goods from as low as 80 feet to as high as 100 feet, and gently set the product on the ground at the customer’s location. We are doing that consistently today in under 30 minutes from the time the product(s) is ordered until the product is at the customer’s home.”One of the interesting subplots here is that there’s not much of a labor force for a commercial drone sector, and the challenges of creating one from scratch are profound in a historically tight labor market. DroneUp has launched a job training initiative where they fly new employees into one of their hubs for training on the drones, the delivery operations, and how to maintain the drones themselves. It’s a compelling illustration of what the industry has been promising for years: jobs, delivery, services, and safety.”We believe that one of the key components to being able to scale these operations is talent,” says Walker. “We invested specifically into our recruiting engine to bring on the right people. We understand that not only is recruitment important, but retention is important, too. Turnover can create challenges when you’re trying to scale operations as quickly as we are. So we are investing significantly into training programs. We’re actually building a facility right now in Virginia where we’ll be able to bring the operators in for training. There’ll be a couple of weeks of online training, and then a couple of weeks of in-person training covering around-the-clock data, daylight operations, nighttime operations, different ways of dealing with potential issues that arise, and more, and then they’ll go out in the field.”Underscoring all this is an evolution in the FAA’s view of beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flying. “We’re excited about the FAA leaning into this and recognizing that in order for this industry to scale, we’re going to have to fly beyond the visual line of sight. One of the challenges has always been that we’ve held the unmanned systems world to the same level of safety [standards] that we’ve held the manned aviation community, and that’s a very difficult thing to do in terms of where and how we’re operating.”Walker points out that the recent FAA Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) recommendations were very specific when it comes to risk: how do we appropriately manage and measure risk to enable us to go beyond our visual line of sight? “The important thing I say to the community is we don’t need to immediately go from visual line of sight to unlimited BVLOS. We need to make incremental changes. How can we go from here to a little bit further, then a bit further than that, and maintain safety while determining an acceptable level of risk? Does it have to be equivalent to standard general aviation rules that are carrying personnel and so forth?”Last November the companies announced plans to open three drone Hubs at Arkansas Walmarts, with more locations pending.

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    Can drones zipping through the forest prevent fires?

    A drone collecting data in the forest using Treeswift technology.
    Treeswift
    One of the major challenges of managing forest lands against threats like fire and deforestation is the daunting logistical hurdle of collecting data. Drones darting through forests under the canopy may help.

    The precarious-sounding premise has won investors a big vote of confidence to the tune of $6.4 million, including a recently closed $4.8 million round. Treeswift, a startup that’s developed a drone=based solution to navigate under the forest canopy to collect vast quantities of data, including information on individual trees, announced the seed round led by Pathbreaker Ventures.The problem is profound, and it’s not hard to spot the market need. “Our mission is to build the data ecosystem for the natural world, and we are accomplishing that by capturing important data from below the forest canopy,” said Steven Chen, Treeswift’s CEO. “We anticipate that Treeswift technology will help to obtain a more transparent, verifiable, and accurate view of the planet from the ground up.”Also: Drone delivery nearer to take-off following latest FAA recommendationsNot surprisingly, Treeswift is iterating on a previously performed process with a mishmash of technologies and boots on the ground measurement. Previous approaches used remote sensing methods such as satellites or planes, but this top-down method is insufficient for detailed insights about what’s going on beneath the canopy. That job has traditionally been accomplished by human workers called timber cruisers, who take to the forest floor with journals and tape measures. Drones that employ a variety of cameras, sensors, and advanced machine learning algorithms can simply cover more ground faster while doing a more comprehensive job of collecting data sets.That’s important for a variety of industries and use cases. Forestry data can help provide a detailed picture of fire risk, for example, by identifying highly combustible dead and damaged trees. Climate models depend on accurate measures of carbon capture, which is directly related to the health and size of trees in forests. Also: Butterfly propulsion for electric aviation commences testingTreeswift is advised by Dr. Harold Burkhart of Virginia Tech’s Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation and Dr. Vijay Kumar, the Nemirovsky Family Dean of Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania’s GRASP Laboratory.Of course, extractive industries can also use tools that can be used for conservation can also be used by extractive industries; one of the primary customers for Treeswift is likely to be the commercial logging sector. “The Molpus team has been particularly impressed with Treeswift’s ability to allocate trees into product classes accurately and to identify stem quality issues impacting value,” said Randy Taylor, Senior Director, Resource Planning of Molpus Woodlands Group. “Understanding and accurately maintaining timber inventories play an important part in managing our clients’ forests to their potential.”The hope is that equipping the commercial forestry sector with tools to better identify and target which trees it cuts may help avoid the indiscriminate cutting methods that are destructive to habitats and soil health and can actually increase fire risk. More