Project delivery and partnership with the University of Antwerp.

‍The University of Antwerp is conducting climate research in the De Inslag forest in Brasschaat using a DroneMatrix YETI drone. It flies over the forest every day, automatically controlled, and has special sensors to collect data. This allows scientists to see, for example, which trees are sick and how the different types of trees respond to climate change.

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The scientists of the University of Antwerp want to get a better picture of the health of the trees and the effects of climate change. The research drone should help them with that. It will fly out autonomously every day and contains 7 instruments that perform measurements simultaneously.

"This didn't exist yet, we are the first to develop this," says professor Ivan Janssens proudly. "It was really a feat to build that drone, because it is a unique combination of sensors."

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"For example, the drone has sensors that allow us to see which tree has too little water after just one flight. The stomata of the leaf then close, and the tree then becomes much warmer than the rest. There are also cameras on the drone that can distinguish the shades of green very precisely, so that we can see whether a tree is healthy or sick."

This way, scientists can also advise forest managers on future plantings, because they study different tree species. "Then we can say which species they should no longer plant, or which ones they should remove because they will die in the future," says Janssens.

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