Using unmanned aerial vehicles (uavs or drones) in forestry productivity and control applications

A computer-implemented method, comprising:

• generating an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) control signal to control a UAV to fly over a forestry worksite and capture imagery information, corresponding to different geographic locations in the forestry worksite, with an image capture component on the UAV;
• identifying a machine at one of the geographic locations at the forestry worksite;
• controlling the UAV to obtain machine-specific data generated from machine sensors on the identified machine at the one of the geographic locations at the forestry worksite;
• receiving the imagery information and the machine-specific data from the UAV;
• identifying a productivity category indicative of worksite completion state corresponding to each of the different geographic locations at the forestry worksite, based on the imagery information;
• generating a productivity metric corresponding to the identified machine based on the imager information and based on the machine-specific data;
• and
• generating an action signal based on the productivity category corresponding to each of the geographic locations, and the productivity metric corresponding to the identified machine.

A computing system, comprising:

• unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) interaction logic that generates a control signal to control a UAV to fly over a forest site and capture imagery information, corresponding to different geographic locations in the forest site, with an image capture component on the UAV;
• machine interaction logic configured to identify each of a plurality of different machines at the geographic locations at the forestry site wherein the UAV interaction logic is configured to control the UAV to obtain machine-specific data generated from machine sensors on each of the identified machines at the geographic locations at the forestry site;
• a communication system that receives the imagery information and machine-specific data from the UAV;
• tree inventory logic that generates a tree inventory metric indicative of a tree inventory at the forest site based on the imagery information;
• and
• a productivity control system configured to identify a different productivity category metric corresponding to each of the different geographic locations at the forestry site and indicative of a productivity of a forestry operation at each of the different geographic locations, based on the imagery information, and wherein the productivity control system is configured to generate a machine productivity metric corresponding to each of the identified machines, and being indicative of a productivity of the corresponding machine in performing the forestry operation, based on the imagery information and based on the machine-specific data;
• and
• a processor that generates an action signal based on the tree inventory metric, and the machine productivity metric.