DroneSeed is sending drones to change the forestry industry
DroneSeed is the latest example of how drones are taking jobs — but in a good way.
The $200 billion forestry industry depends on manual labor to plant seeds in the ground, with work crews using shovels for the chore. One human worker typically can plant 800 seeds in a day, but DroneSeed predicts its device can plant 800 seeds per hour. It’s back-bending work — literally. Workers have to do 1,000 backbends a day and carry small trees up and down hills. Some estimate the work involved in one day of working as a seed planter is equivalent to running two marathons each day.
DroneSeed’s drones blasting fertilizer and seeds into the ground at 350 feet per second.
DroneSeed says its solution is good for the environment, worker safety and investors. DroneSeed’s drones currently have a flight time of about 30 minutes; after changing batteries, the drones can cover an acre within 1.5 hours.
Read more about DroneSeed in the full article I wrote over at MarketWatch.com.
One person can do the work of 8. Great! More profit for the lumber industry. Great! Seven people out of work that now cannot buy a new home built with lumber. Great?
Automation reduced the cost of a car so more could be sold. But the harvesting and the production of lumber will still be as expensive regardless of how the trees are planted. So homes will not be cheaper. In the long run the lumber industry will not benefit because of the reduction in sales.