The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1471357
B-2 Wednesday, June 22, 2022 The Press-Dispatch Integration leads to leap in tech for forest inventory, management Through integration of aerial and ground-based mo- bile mapping sensors and systems, a team of Purdue digital forestr y researchers has used advanced tech- nology to locate, count and measure more than a thou- sand trees in a matter of hours. "The machines are count- ing and measuring each tree – it is not an estima- tion using modeling, it is a tr ue forest inventor y," said Songlin Fei, the Dean's Re- mote Sensing Chair and pro- fessor of forestr y and natu- ral resources and leader of Purdue University's Digital Forestr y initiative. "This is a groundbreaking development on our path to using technology for a quick, accurate inventor y of the global forest ecosystem, which will improve our abil- ity to prevent forest fires, detect disease, per form ac- curate carbon counting and make informed forest man- agement decisions." The technology uses manned aircraft, unmanned drones and backpack-mount- ed systems. The systems in- tegrate cameras with light detection and ranging units, or LiDAR, together with nav- igation sensors, including integrated global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) and iner tial navigation sys- tems (INS). A Purdue team led by Ayman Habib, the Thomas A. Page Professor of Civil Engineering and head of Purdue's Digital Photogrammetr y Research Group, who co-led the proj- ect with Fei, designed and created the systems. "The dif ferent par ts of the systems take advantage of the characteristics of ac- quired data to determine which component has the most accurate informa- tion for a given data point," Habib said. "This is how we can inte- grate small-scale and large- scale information. One plat- form alone cannot do it. We needed to find a way for mul- tiple platforms and sensors – providing dif ferent kinds of information – to work to- gether. This gives the full picture at extremely high resolution. The fine details are not lost." fei-drone Songlin Fei leads Purdue University's Digital Forest- r y initiative (Purdue Univer- sity photo/Tom Campbell) Download image A machine-lear ning al- gorithm developed by the team to analyze the data is as impor tant as the custom autonomous vehicles they created. The findings of a study using their technology are detailed in a paper pub- lished in the jour nal Remote Sensing. "This system gathers a variety of information about each tree, including height, tr unk diameter and branch- ing information," Habib said. "In addition to this in- formation, we maintain pre- cise location and time tags of acquired features." The result is like giving a person much-needed glass- es. What was once blur r y and uncer tain becomes clear. Their vision is im- proved, and in tur n, so is their understanding of what they see. LiDAR works like radar, but uses light from a laser as the signal. LiDAR sensors evaluate the range between the scanning system and ob- jects using the time it takes the signal to travel to objects and back to the sensor. On drones, planes or satellites it takes measurements from above the tree canopy, and on roving vehicles or back- packs it takes measurements from below the canopy. The aerial systems have contin- uous access to GNSS signal to pinpoint the sensor loca- tion and orientation after GNSS/INS integration and provide reasonable resolu- tion. Ground-based systems, on the other hand, provide more details and finer reso- lution, while suf fering from potential GNSS signal outag- es, Habib said. "This multiplatform sys- tem and processing frame- work takes the best from each to provide both fine details and high positional accuracy," he said. For instance, if the back- pack is in an area with poor access to GNSS signal, a drone can step in and put that data in the right place, he said. "It is a breakthrough in ap- plying novel geomatics tools to forestr y," Fei said. "It is solving a real and pressing challenge in fields such as agriculture and transpor ta- tion, but it also is amazing engineering and science that will be applied beyond one arena." As the dif ferent plat- forms work together, the system also is identifying data points from each that equate to the same tree characteristic. Eventually it could cor relate and discov- er what above-canopy data means in terms of what is happening below canopy, Habib said. That would be a giant leap in the speed and area of forest that could be covered. LiDAR can be used to make digital 3D maps of trees and forests, so one can vir tually assess tree growth, ground cover and forest con- ditions. The team continues to work on scaling up the tech- nology and refining the ma- chine lear ning. The Hardwood Tree Im- provement and Regeneration Center and the U.S. Depar t- ment of Agriculture's (Hatch Project No. IND10004973) fund this work. Motorcyclists hit deer in Otwell By Sherri Sebella News Editor sherri@pressdispatch.net A Washington man and woman were involved in a motorcycle accident on Sun- day, June 5, at 12:50 a.m., on Highway 257, in Otwell, when the motorcycle struck a deer that ran out in front of it. Casey Francis, 34, said he was traveling Nor th bound on Highway 257, when he noticed a deer to the West of the road, cross his lane of travel and go in front of his motorcycle, which caused him to collide with the deer. Francis' bike went into the ditch to the East of the road- way, where the motorcycle fell on its left side. Witnesses said the deer came across their lane of trav- el, causing the motorcycle to collide with the deer. Francis complained of pain in his chest and his passen- ger, Jessica Francis, 27, of Washington, complained of pain in her elbow and low- er arm. Both were taken for medical attention. Total esti- mate of damage to the motor- cycle was between $1,001 and $2,500. Bloomfield man charged with Possession of pot, syringe By Sherri Sebella News Editor sherri@pressdispatch.net A call coming in to Central Dispatch on Monday, at 3:45, of a reckless driver travel- ing nor th on State Road 61 to Petersburg, resulted in the arrest of Ryan Norrington, 47, of Bloomfield, Indiana. Indiana State Trooper Dustin Stein was traveling southbound on State Road 61 in Pike County, when he obser ved a gray 2020 gray Kia Sorento traveling nor thbound in the southbound lane. The vehicle in front of Stein had to drive on the shoulder to prevent being hit. The Kia Sorento then swer ved back into the nor thbound lane, when Stein activated his emergency lights to initiate a traf fic stop. The vehicle took an unusual amount of time to pull over, so Stein activated his si- ren and the vehicle eventually pulled over onto the shoulder. When Stein approached the driver's side of the vehicle, he advised Norrington that he was pulled over because he was driving nor thbound in the southbound lane. As Stein was talking to Norrington, he could smell the odor of marijuana emitting from the vehicle. Stein asked Norrington if he had smoked any marijuana that day and he stated he had just smoked marijuana two hours ago. When asked if there was any marijuana in the car, Norrington state not that he knew of. Additional Police arrived on the scene and a search of Norrington's vehicle found what Norrington stated as a couple of ounc- es of marijuana and a syringe inside of a Crown Royal bag that was in the passenger seat. When asked what was inside the sy- ringe, Nor rington stated that he used it for methamphetamine a couple of days prior. Norrington was given the Standard Field Sobriety Test, which he passed. Police ad- vised Norrington that he was going to be charged with Possession of Marijuana and Possession of a syringe. Norrington was transpor ted to Pike County Jail without in- cident and Schell's Towing took possession of the vehicle. Purdue researchers develop IV injection treatment for sepsis Purdue University re- searchers are developing a patent-pending treatment that could impact millions of American lives each year. The Centers for Disease Con- trol and Prevention reports that at least 1.7 million American adults develop sepsis annually; almost 270,000 die as a result. One in three patients who die in a hospital has sepsis. Sepsis occurs when the body's immune response to an infection or injury goes unchecked. Chemicals or pro- teins released into the blood lead to leaky blood vessels, inflammation and widespread blood clots. These conditions lead to impaired blood flow, which can cause organ damage and death. Yoon Yeo leads a Purdue team developing biocompat- ible nanopar ticles that treat sepsis systemically through intravenous injection. Yeo is a professor and the associate depar tment head of indus- trial and physical pharmacy in the College of Pharmacy. She also is a professor in the Weldon School of Biomedi- cal Engineering. Yeo said Polymyxin B, a tra- ditional antibiotic, can inacti- vate endotoxins that cause a specific type of sepsis, but it may be too toxic for systemic application. For sepsis thera- py, it mostly has been tested in extracorporeal blood clean- ing, which is cumbersome and time consuming. "Our nanopar ticle formu- lations reduce dose-limiting toxicity of Polymyxin B with- out losing its ability to inac- tivate endotoxins," Yeo said. In mouse models of sep- sis, 100% treated with the Purdue nanopar ticle were protected from excessive in- flammation and sur vived. "This technology holds promise as a safe, conve- nient option for patients and physicians," Yeo said. Yeo disclosed the nanopar ticles to the Pur- due Research Foundation Of fice of Technology Com- mercialization, which has applied for patents from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Of fice and European Patent Of fice to protect the intellec- tual proper ty. Yoon Yeo of Purdue University's College of Pharmacy and College of Engineering leads a team developing biocompatible nanoparticles that treat sepsis systemically through intravenous injection. This technology holds promise as a safe, convenient option for patients and physicians," -Yoon Yeo