{"id":169316,"date":"2022-11-20T08:00:42","date_gmt":"2022-11-20T18:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=169316"},"modified":"2022-11-18T20:28:16","modified_gmt":"2022-11-19T06:28:16","slug":"chainsaw-drone-fight-rapid-ohia-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2022\/11\/20\/chainsaw-drone-fight-rapid-ohia-death\/","title":{"rendered":"New chainsaw drone technology deployed to fight Rapid \u02bb\u014chi\u02bba Death"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 3<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><div class=\"responsive-video-wrap-post\"><figure class=\"wp-block-embed wp-block-embed-youtube is-type-video is-provider-youtube epyt-figure\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\"><iframe  id=\"_ytid_20417\"  width=\"676\" height=\"676\"  data-origwidth=\"676\" data-origheight=\"676\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-snm3VYzTQE?enablejsapi=1&origin=https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu&rel=0&autoplay=0&cc_load_policy=0&cc_lang_pref=&iv_load_policy=1&loop=0&fs=1&playsinline=0&autohide=2&theme=dark&color=red&controls=1&disablekb=0&\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  no-lazyload\" title=\"New chainsaw drone technology deployed to fight Rapid \u02bb\u014chi\u02bba Death\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div>\n<p>A new aerial chainsaw device that could assist in the battle to save <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Hawai&#699;i<\/span>\u2019s <span aria-label=\"ohia\">&#699;&#333;hi&#699;a<\/span> trees from a deadly fungal pathogen is being put to the test by a <a href=\"http:\/\/hilo.hawaii.edu\">University of <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Hawai&#699;i<\/span> at Hilo<\/a> geographer. Professor <strong>Ryan Perroy<\/strong> and his research team have developed a drone attachment capable of sampling tree branch samples for diagnostic laboratory testing and other purposes.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_169346\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-169346\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/hilo-geography-chainsaw-drone-4-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"Close up of the gripper and chainsaw from above\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-169346\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/hilo-geography-chainsaw-drone-4-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/hilo-geography-chainsaw-drone-4-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/hilo-geography-chainsaw-drone-4.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-169346\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The device consists of a small rotating chainsaw with a robotic gripper claw mounted beneath the drone<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The device, named K\u016bk\u016bau, 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 <span aria-label=\"Ohia\">&#699;&#332;hi&#699;a<\/span> Death (<abbr>ROD<\/abbr>).<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;There have been times when we detected an <span aria-label=\"ohia\">&#699;&#333;hi&#699;a<\/span> tree suspected of infection with the pathogens responsible for Rapid <span aria-label=\"Ohia\">&#699;&#332;hi&#699;a<\/span> Death, but because of the location, it was too dangerous or problematic to send field crews out to sample it for confirmation,&rdquo; said Perroy. &ldquo;K\u016bk\u016bau has the potential to help in those types of situations.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The cutting-edge device was developed by Perroy and his team in collaboration with researchers at <abbr>ETH<\/abbr> Z\u00fcrich, a public research university in Switzerland, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and <abbr>R<\/abbr>&#38;<abbr>R<\/abbr> Machining\/Welding in Hilo on <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Hawai&#699;i<\/span> Island. Perroy\u2019s research on aerial branch sampling was recently published and featured on the cover of the journal <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2504-446X\/6\/10\/275\">drones<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_169345\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-169345\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/hilo-geography-chainsaw-drone-3-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"Three people in hard hats and hi viz shirts work on a drone in a field\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-169345\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/hilo-geography-chainsaw-drone-3-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/hilo-geography-chainsaw-drone-3-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/hilo-geography-chainsaw-drone-3.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-169345\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">From left: <abbr>东精影业<\/abbr> Hilo researchers Roberto Rodriguez, Ryan Perroy and Shawna Blackford activate drone device<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Project funding was provided by the U.S. Department of the Interior\u2019s Office of Native Hawaiian Relations, the National Park Service, and Conservation X Labs. The <a href=\"http:\/\/acm.hawaii.edu\/\"><abbr>东精影业<\/abbr> Academy for Creative Media provided<\/a> the <abbr>3D<\/abbr> printer used in the project.<\/p>\n<p>K\u016bk\u016bau is the name of an <span aria-label=\"ahupuaa\">ahupua&#699;a<\/span> (land subdivision) in the Hilo area, and is also a term for a type of crab, <em>Metopograpsus thukuhar<\/em>, or &#699;alamihi in Hawaiian.<\/p>\n<h2>Critical modifications<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/hilo-geography-chainsaw-drone-1-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"Person controlling a drone\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-169323\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/hilo-geography-chainsaw-drone-1-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/hilo-geography-chainsaw-drone-1-130x130.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/hilo-geography-chainsaw-drone-1.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Researchers at <abbr>ETH<\/abbr> Z\u00fcrich had previously developed a drone attachment capable of cutting small tree branches, however, when the <abbr>东精影业<\/abbr> Hilo team used the device they found that the samples of twigs were often too small to detect the fungal pathogens. In July 2019, Perroy\u2019s team collaborated with the Swiss researchers and a Hilo welding company to develop a new drone attachment equipped to saw off larger branches.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We successfully detected the target fungal pathogen from the collected branches and found that branch diameter, leaf presence and condition, as well as wood moisture content are important factors in pathogen detection in sampled branches,&rdquo; Perroy explained.<\/p>\n<p>None of the smallest branch samples tested positive for <em>C. lukuohia<\/em>, while 77% of the largest diameter branch samples produced positive results. The research shows that the new branch sampler, capable of retrieving the larger branches, provides the right size for a higher rate of successful diagnostic testing.<\/p>\n<p>Since 2014, researchers discovered <abbr>ROD<\/abbr> killed hundreds of thousands of mature <span aria-label=\"ohia\">&#699;&#333;hi&#699;a<\/span> trees (Metrosideros polymorpha) throughout the Hawaiian Islands and continues to spread. <abbr>ROD<\/abbr> is caused by two invasive fungi, <em>Ceratocystis huliohia<\/em> and <em>Ceratocystis lukuohia<\/em>, and has the potential to irreversibly change some Native Hawaiian ecosystems.<\/p>\n<h2>More on <abbr>东精影业<\/abbr> Hilo aerial survey research<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_169347\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-169347\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/hilo-geography-chainsaw-drone-5-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"Two people looking at a computer monitor\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-169347\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/hilo-geography-chainsaw-drone-5-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/hilo-geography-chainsaw-drone-5-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/hilo-geography-chainsaw-drone-5-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/hilo-geography-chainsaw-drone-5-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/hilo-geography-chainsaw-drone-5-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/hilo-geography-chainsaw-drone-5.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-169347\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><abbr>东精影业<\/abbr> Hilo researchers analyze data from aerial surveys to map problem areas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Perroy is principal investigator at the <abbr>东精影业<\/abbr> Hilo <a href=\"https:\/\/hilo.hawaii.edu\/sdav\/\">Spatial Data Analysis and Visualization Laboratory<\/a>, a research unit applying geospatial tools to local environmental problems in <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Hawai&#699;i<\/span> and the Pacific region. His group has been working on the detection of <abbr>ROD<\/abbr> and invasive species populations over forests across <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Hawai&#699;i<\/span> using high-resolution cameras and other sensors carried by drones and helicopters. The collected images and data provide managers precious time to respond to outbreaks, and gives scientists better information on how diseases and invasive species spread.<\/p>\n<p>In 2019, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2019\/07\/11\/perroy-ohia-challenge-award\/\">Perroy won $70,000 in a competition<\/a> sponsored by the National Park Service for his innovative use of drones and remote sensing devices to detect <abbr>ROD<\/abbr>. Throughout the last three years, Perroy and his team have continued to hone and refine the equipment needed to conduct aerial sampling using a small unoccupied aerial system.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_99815\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-99815\" style=\"width: 676px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/hilo-rapid-ohia-death.jpg\" alt=\"tops decimated ohia trees\" width=\"676\" height=\"381\" class=\"size-full wp-image-99815\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/hilo-rapid-ohia-death.jpg 676w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/hilo-rapid-ohia-death-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/hilo-rapid-ohia-death-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-99815\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rapid browning of affected <span aria-label=\"ohia\">&#699;&#333;hi&#699;a<\/span> tree crowns. (Photo credit: Department of Land and Natural Resources)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The device, named K\u016bk\u016bau, consists of a small rotating chainsaw with a robotic gripper claw and can cut and retrieve tree branches. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,12],"tags":[665,38,1018,651,73,14,56],"class_list":["post-169316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","category-video","tag-conservation","tag-geography","tag-rapid-ohia-death","tag-spatial-data-analysis-and-visualization-laboratory","tag-sustainability","tag-uh-hilo","tag-video-2","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169316"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169316\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":169348,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169316\/revisions\/169348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}