New chainsaw drone technology deployed to fight Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death

A new aerial chainsaw device that could assist in the battle to save Hawaiʻi’s ʻōhiʻa trees from a deadly fungal pathogen is being put to the test by a University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo geographer. Professor Ryan Perroy and his research team have developed a drone attachment capable of sampling tree branch samples for diagnostic laboratory testing and other purposes.
The device, named Kūkūau, consists of a small rotating chainsaw with a robotic gripper claw mounted beneath a drone, and can cut and retrieve branches up to seven centimeters in diameter. The samples are collected for diagnostic testing of forest fungal pathogens, including those responsible for Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death (ROD).
Read more at UH News: www.hawaii.edu...