Specialists from the company "Geoscan" have, for the first time in Russia, applied artificial intelligence to assess the results of reforestation using data obtained from drones. This was reported to RIA Novosti by the company's press service on December 23, 2025.
The project was implemented in the Aniva forestry of the Sakhalin Oblast in a hard-to-reach area where traditional survey methods proved impossible due to the aftermath of a typhoon, windfalls, and dense thickets of bamboo. In addition, there were discrepancies between the actual and registered boundaries of forest crops, which was confirmed by satellite data analysis.
For aerial photography, "Geoscan 201" drones were used, and data processing and vegetation classification were performed in the "Bor" software package developed by the company. Artificial intelligence algorithms made it possible to determine tree species, calculate their height and diameter, identify plot boundaries, and classify vegetation by category. The total area of the surveyed territory exceeded 860 hectares.
Ekaterina Lysun, Head of the Application of Unmanned Aerial Systems in Forestry, noted that the combination of drones and AI makes it possible to survey hard-to-reach areas and eliminates the subjective factor in the visual assessment of forest plantations. She emphasized that the new approach reduces the time and cost of work, reduces labor costs, and increases the accuracy of results.
The orthophotoplans created during the project were transferred to the Agency for Forestry and Hunting of the Sakhalin Oblast and included in the database of the regional information system "Digital Twin of the Sakhalin Oblast."