Using 3D to Solve the “Three D’s” of Forestry

Heesung Woo, an assistant professor of advanced forestry, is one of the few people in the world leading forestry robotics research. This research, which involves emerging technology like artificial intelligence, precision mapping, machine learning and tree planting drones and robots, is looking to solve two big challenges facing forestry today — a declining and aging workforce and the need to incorporate AI, robotics and 3D mapping solutions into everyday forest management.

“The first challenge facing forestry — and this is a worldwide challenge — has to do with the forestry workforce,” says Woo. “There is a labor shortage, including an aging, fairly homogeneous workforce with fewer younger people and a small percentage of women working in the field.”

Woo says forestry is often referred to using the “three D’s” (not to be confused with 3D technology). “Forestry can be difficult, dirty and dangerous,” says Woo.

“Partially for that reason, it can be challenging to recruit the next generation, but it’s vital that we continue to diversify the workforce and continuously ask how we can expand and better train the population we recruit, as well as give the broader field of forestry more advanced yet accessible tools for managing their forests.”

One of the answers lies in technology, which plays a key role in attracting younger, more diverse audiences to the field. As young people are already familiar with computers and digital tools, they are more inclined to embrace the latest innovations. These technological advancements not only offer exciting opportunities but also help reduce the physical demands and risks associated with traditional forestry tasks by automating many processes.

Technology is also the answer for another challenge facing forestry — the software to analyze and understand the forests and move from broad brush management to granular prescriptions that digitally capture data, can be expensive and inaccessible to a small woodland owner. Woo is working to both revolutionize the technology used in forestry and democratize knowledge and software through open-source applications.

“Often the basic technology is not the expensive part, it’s the software,” says Woo. “The software also requires training so even if someone can get their hands on the technology, a knowledge gap can exist.”

Woo is developing free applications and open-source software, so forestry managers can have access to previously cost-prohibitive software. That takes the prices of some systems down from $500,000 to a few
thousand dollars, giving a broader group of people access to the latest technology.

He is also developing robots equipped with low-cost LiDAR systems to explore opportunities in autonomous forest monitoring applications, utilizing 3D mapping and precision data collection with LiDAR sensors.

Woo is committed to investigating and promoting advanced forestry practices that go beyond conventional methods to help foresters and land managers make data-driven decisions, remain safe and help forestry attract a more diverse workforce.

“By harnessing the power of artificial intelligence and open-source technology, we can make forest monitoring and management more accurate, more efficient, more sustainable and an attractive field for the next generation,” says Woo.

A version of this story appeared in the Spring 2025 issue of Focus on Forestry, the alumni magazine of the Oregon State University College of Forestry.