Revolutionizing Tree Stability Assessments with Cutting-Edge Technology
Data-driven tree care gets a high-tech boost with our cutting-edge technology combining 3D scanning and computer vision. By accurately modeling trees in 3D and using advanced calculations to assess their stability, we're revolutionizing the way urban trees are cared for, ensuring that older trees continue to thrive and provide benefits for longer. Using data based on a tree's real geometry, we can recommend targeted crown reduction as needed to restore stability.
Cross-border/international
Czechia
Slovakia
Member State(s), Western Balkans and other countries: Poland
Member State(s), Western Balkans and other countries: Lithuania
Member State(s), Western Balkans and other countries: Netherlands
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It addresses urban-rural linkages
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
Yes
ERDF : European Regional Development Fund
TAČR (The Technology Agency of the Czech Republic) gave us around 40.000EUR for further development of this project last year.
No
As a representative of an organisation
Name of the organisation(s): ARBO Technologies Type of organisation: For-profit company First name of representative: Ondrej Last name of representative: Kolarik Age: 29 Please attach a copy of your national ID/residence card:
By ticking this box, I certify that the information regarding my age is factually correct. : Yes Gender: Male Nationality: Czechia Function: CEO Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Purkyňova 649/127 Town: Brno Postal code: 61200 Country: Czechia Direct Tel:+420605974979 E-mail:ondrej.kolarik@adbian.com Website:http://www.adbian.com
Our project aims to revolutionize urban tree care with cutting-edge technology combining 3D scanning and computer vision. Accessible to tree experts via smartphone, our technology enables the detection of trees that could pose a danger to their surroundings. By accurately modeling trees in 3D and using advanced calculations to assess their stability, we can ensure that older, valuable trees continue to thrive and provide benefits for longer. Using data based on a tree's real geometry, we can recommend targeted crown reduction as needed to restore stability. With more data, our product becomes constantly better, allowing us to further advance our mission of maximizing tree benefits by increasing their average age in cities and landscapes with technology. Our data-driven approach to tree care is designed to keep urban trees safe and healthy, while also providing valuable insights for experts in the field of tree biomechanics. This innovative solution has the potential to benefit cities around the world by promoting the long-term health and sustainability of their urban tree populations.
Tree stability
Urban tree care
Technology
Biodiversity
Temperature regulation
Promoting the long-term health and sustainability of urban tree populations: By accurately modeling trees in 3D and using advanced calculations to assess their stability, our project aims to ensure that older, valuable trees continue to thrive and provide benefits for longer. This can help to maintain the overall health and sustainability of urban tree populations, which can have a range of positive impacts on the environment, including carbon sequestration, biodiversity, air quality improvement, and temperature regulation.
Reducing the risk of tree failure and the associated costs and risks: By detecting trees that could pose a danger to their surroundings and recommending targeted crown reduction as needed to restore stability, our project aims to reduce the risk of tree failure, which can have costly and potentially dangerous consequences. By addressing potential issues with tree stability before they become a problem, our project can help to minimize these risks and costs.
Leveraging technology to improve efficiency and effectiveness in tree care: By making expert-level tree assessments accessible to tree care professionals via smartphone, our project aims to improve efficiency and effectiveness in the field of tree care. By using data-driven approaches and constantly improving the product with more data, our project has the potential to be exemplary in terms of sustainability by making the best use of resources and promoting the most effective and efficient solutions.
Our project aims to address these key objectives in this context:
Design: The use of our technology in the project allowed us to create detailed and accurate 3D models of trees, which are used to visualize and understand the aesthetic characteristics of individual trees and urban tree populations as a whole. This information could be used to informed decisions related to the placement, care, and maintenance of trees, with the goal of maximizing their aesthetic and cultural value. In addition, modeling trees for urban planners with root protection zones could increase our project's impact by helping to protect trees during construction works and other activities that could potentially damage their roots.
Positive emotions: Trees can have a positive impact on people's emotions and well-being, and our project could support this by ensuring the long-term health and sustainability of urban tree populations. A study published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology found that people who live in areas with more trees report higher levels of life satisfaction and happiness than those who live in areas with fewer trees. By using data-driven approaches to identify and address potential issues with tree stability, our project could help to preserve and enhance the aesthetic value of trees, which could contribute to quality of life for people in urban environments.
Cultural benefits: Trees can have significant cultural value, and our project is supporting the preservation and promotion of this value. Some trees are considered cultural heritage and protecting them is one of our project's commitments to future generations.
By leveraging advanced technology and data-driven approaches, our project could help to maximize the aesthetic and cultural value of urban trees, while also supporting their long-term health and sustainability.
Accessibility and affordability: By making expert-level tree assessments accessible to tree care professionals via smartphone, our project aims to increase the accessibility and affordability of tree care services. Our project could help in the future to reduce the need for costly and time-consuming on-site inspections, making it easier and more cost-effective for tree care professionals to assess and manage trees in urban environments. We are also adjusting prices for less developed markets that do not normally invest large amounts in treecare so that they can also benefit from our technology.
Inclusive governing systems: By providing data-driven insights into the health and stability of urban trees, our project could support the development of more inclusive and transparent governing systems for tree care and management. By making data openly available and using data-driven approaches to inform decision-making, our project could promote greater accountability and transparency in the field of tree care, which could help to ensure that the needs and concerns of all stakeholders are considered.
Access to data and information: By making data and information about the health and stability of urban trees openly available, our concept could allow citizens and civil society organizations to better understand the status and needs of these trees. This could allow them to make more informed decisions about how to care for and protect these trees, and could also help to increase transparency and accountability in tree care and management.
Improved quality of life: By promoting the long-term health and sustainability of urban trees, our concept could have a positive impact on the quality of life for citizens and communities. Urban trees can provide a range of benefits, including carbon sequestration, air quality improvement, temperature regulation, and aesthetic value, all of which can contribute to a more livable and enjoyable urban environment.
The involvement of citizens and civil society in our concept could have a number of impacts on the concept itself. For example, their input and feedback could help to shape the design and implementation of our project, and could help to ensure that it meets the needs and concerns of all stakeholders. Additionally, their participation and engagement could help to increase the buy-in and support for our concept, which could be critical to its success.
By involving experts from Mendel University in the development of the calculations used in your product, project benefited from their expertise and knowledge in the field of tree care and biomechanics. Their engagement helped to ensure that the calculations used in our concept are accurate and reliable, and contributed to the overall quality of our product.
By engaging with local and regional tree care companies and municipalities, as well as other tree owners (such as private park owners, hospitals, business park owners…), we have gained valuable insights and perspectives on their needs and concerns. Their engagement had helped to shape the design and implementation of our product in a way that is responsive to the needs of these groups.
One example of how stakeholder engagement influenced the development of our concept was through feedback from tree owners. They expressed that the reports generated by our product were too technical for their understanding. In response, we redesigned the reports to make them more user-friendly for tree owners while still including the technical details necessary for tree specialists. We are able to address many of these issues by keeping tight feedback loop between our users and developers. User experience, including constantly adjusting buttons and features to make it more intuitive for new users is improved on weekly bases.
As part of the project, we plan to involve architects in the development and use of our technology (from VUT university in Brno...). By leveraging of our technology, architects could use accurate and detailed 3D models of trees to inform project planning and design decisions. By considering the characteristics and needs of individual trees and urban tree populations, architects could use our technology to identify opportunities for preserving valuable trees and integrating them into their projects in a way that is aesthetically pleasing, sustainable and safe.
By involving tree care experts in the design and development of our concept, we benefited from their knowledge and experience in the field. Their input helped to ensure that the product is grounded in best practices and current research in the field. We also used their valuable feedback a lot in early testing of the application.
By involving experts in the field of biomechanics, we benefited from their understanding of how trees move in a wind load and interact with each other and their environment. Their input helped us to create the calculations and to ensure that they are accurate and reliable. The calculations were co-developed with mathematicians and programmers, who brought their technical skills and knowledge in developing software and other technical solutions to the table. This also helped us to shift performance demanding calculations on servers, ensure the scalability of our solution.
We have benefited from UX designer expertise in creating user-centered design solutions. His input helped to ensure that our concept is easy to use and intuitive for tree care professionals, and contributed to the overall usability and user experience of our concept. Our UX designer's main focus has been on maximizing efficiency in the field for tree care professionals. By allowing them to collect all necessary data in the shortest amount of time possible, we are able to optimize the final usage of the app.
Our PM played a crucial role in the design and development of our concept. She effectively coordinated the work of the various experts and stakeholders involved in the project. She maintained regular communication with the product owner (me) to prioritize features and address any bugs based on customer feedback. Through the use of detailed diagrams and documentation, she was able to clearly communicate the system to all stakeholders involved in the project. She also played a vital role in keeping deadlines and effective communication.
We aim to revolutionize the way that trees are cared for and managed in urban environments by incorporating cutting-edge technology, which can have a lasting impact on the health and sustainability. When compared to other solutions in the field of tree care, our product brings several innovative elements to the table.
One of the key innovations of your concept is the inclusion of precise geometry of the tree trunk in calculations of tree biomechanics. This is a shift rom traditional approaches to tree care, which have often relied on more general or subjective methods of assessment, such as visual assessment or often unpercise acoustic tomography. By incorporating precise geometric data into our calculations, we are able to provide more accurate and reliable assessments of tree stability and health. For example, in a case study conducted in Amsterdam, we were able to use our technology to accurately calculate that a specific tree had 18% more healthy wood than was previously determined through the use of acoustic tomography alone. This information would have a significant impact on the decision-making process for tree care specialists regarding the stability of that tree.
We employ the use of cutting-edge technology such as 3D scanning and computer vision to create accurate 3D models of trees and perform calculations. Additionally, we are incorporating machine learning for image recognition to further automate the work of human operators and provide specialists with more relevant data about the tree.
One of the major challenges of traditional approaches to tree care is that they can be time-consuming and resource-intensive, making them difficult to scale up or apply widely. Our concept addresses this issue by using an easy-to-use, scalable mobile application that can be accessed by tree care professionals using a smartphone. This makes our product more accessible and practical for use in a wide range of settings, and could help to increase its impact and reach.
One key principle of our concept is that it is transferable to other geographical locations. This means that the methodology developed as part of our product could potentially be used to assess the health and stability of trees in any ocations. In addition, the methodology can be used to calculate tree biomechanics for tree species that are not yet in our database, as long as we can obtain the necessary wood material properties.
Another potential application of our concept is in fields such as architecture and city planning, where 3D modeling of existing greenery could be used to inform project planning and design decisions, and to improve the preservation of existing trees. The process of working with precise 3D geometry of objects to calculate their attributes could also potentially be transferred to other fields. For example, our ecosystem of applications could potentially be used to create custom packaging solutions, by allowing customers to scan the objects they want to ship and generate custom packaging designs based on the 3D data.
Finally, our data-base of tree information, which we are constantly collecting and updating, has the potential to be used as a foundation for the development of new products based on machine learning. By leveraging this data and advanced analytical techniques, we could potentially further improve our mission of maximizing the ecological benefits of trees by increasing their average age in cities and landscapes.
Our product addresses several global challenges by providing local solutions. One key challenge is the need to improve the health and longevity of trees in urban and suburban environments. Our product helps to ensure that older trees continue to thrive and provide benefits for longer, mitigating the negative impacts of urbanization and contributing to the overall sustainability of these environments.
Another global challenge our concept addresses is the need to increase the average age of trees in cities and landscapes. As trees age, they provide a range of ecological benefits such as improved air quality, carbon sequestration, and habitat for wildlife. By using data-driven techniques to maximize the average age of trees, our concept enhances these benefits and contributes to the overall sustainability of cities and landscapes, which are considered pressing global challenges of our time.
Finally, our product addresses the need to improve the accessibility and affordability of tree care technologies, particularly for smaller tree care professionals and municipalities. By providing a user-friendly and scalable mobile application, we make tree care services more accessible and affordable for these groups, improving their competitiveness and the overall health and sustainability of trees in urban and suburban environments.
