Folarity uses big data and AI to help protect our forests
by Startacus Admin
The lowdown on how Edinburgh-based startup Folarity is using tech to reverse the decline of our forests...
Forests are the lungs of the world, absorbing huge amounts of carbon dioxide and keeping us all alive. Until we decide that a wooden toilet seat is warmer to sit on and so we go and chop them down. As well as breathing, forest cover helps with biodiversity. In the UK, a prolonged decline in biodiversity has resulted in 13% of species becoming at risk of extinction. We have only 13% forest coverage in the UK compared to the European average of 44%, and with only 43% of that 13% (have numbers lost all meaning to you yet?) certified as sustainably managed, what can be done to help reverse this issue?
Edinburgh-based startup Folarity is combining big data and artificial intelligence to do their part. With their platform, they hope to make it easier to manage the tiny forest coverage we have, to give a clear overview of the state of forestry, and to help people both understand and make decisions.
Folarity says that they are using simulation, machine learning, and computer vision technologies to develop solutions for the planning, management, and monitoring of UK forests. As automation becomes more of a thing, data-driven platforms like Folarity will become more and more important, and they will help to bridge the gap between technology and people within the green and leafy sector.
Their first solution is Forest Planner, still in beta, which allows foresters to manage any number of forests. It provides a satellite overview of your woodland, and everything in between down to percentage of tree types and micro details such as ‘squirrel damage’ reported by a manager in their website’s example screenshot. Forest Planner is designed to make planning, monitoring, and decision making easier, simpler and quicker, and it is just the first of their solutions.
In late November Folarity became one of the first startups to join the new Geovation Scotland accelerator programme, which will do wonders as they bring their first solution to market and develop more.
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Published on: 2nd February 2020
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