Our harvesting drones
The system
AirForestry develops an autonomous, electric system for flying forest thinning, making forestry operations more productive, more efficient, and with lower environmental impact than conventional methods.
The system
The drone and tool
Our innovative multi-drone system for thinning consists of a fleet of drones working simultaneously and autonomously.
Each heavy-lift drone has a diameter of 6.2 meters and a purpose-built harvesting tool weighing around 60 kilograms. Together, they enable an entirely new, airborne way to thin forests.
The drones are built from carbon fiber with angled rotors for maximum precision and stability in flight, designed to handle heavy lifts and complex maneuvers over forest terrain.
This ground-free approach minimizes impact on the surrounding environment and marks a decisive step toward a more efficient forestry with lower environmental impact than conventional methods.
The solution
Our prototypes
Our development journey began in the summer of 2020 with Prototype 0.1, a one-meter drone built in just a few days to test our rotor concept. Despite its simplicity, the design performed beyond expectations and generated strong interest from both customers and investors.
In January 2021, we took the next step with Prototype 0.4, with a diameter of 2.5 meters. Built with machined parts, carbon fiber tubes, and standard drone control components, its first load-bearing test flight demonstrated both strong lifting capacity and impressive maneuverability, a significant step toward the forestry drone of the future.
Step by step:
How flying thinning works
AirForestry’s system combines autonomous flight with a specialized harvesting tool that is extremely lightweight and robust, developed specifically for flying forestry operations. Multiple drones work simultaneously to harvest trees. Here is how it works, step by step, for one drone in the fleet:
Step 1
Tree identification
The drones automatically navigate to, and select, suitable trees using AI and computer vision.
Step 2
Positioning above the tree
The drone positions itself above the tree and the harvesting tool grips the top. The tool is released from the top and delimbs the tree using gravity.
Step 3
Tree felling
The tree is cut close to the ground.
Step 4
Tree extraction
After felling, the harvesting tool grips the tree and the drone lifts it out of the forest.
Step 5
Drops. Resets. Repeats.
The drone flies the tree to the drop-off site, then heads straight back out for the next round.
Our solution
Built and tested in close collaboration with the industry
Developed and tested in Sweden.
Built by a team with expertise in forestry, aerospace, and scalable technology development.
Created in close collaboration with the forestry industry.
Backed by strong investors and partners.