Groundbreaking AI technology to map New Zealand trees
Thousands of New Zealand trees are about to get the arborist’s version of an MRI in a move that will change the way cities and towns manage their urban forests forever.
Canterbury tree care company Treetech is partnering with Singaporean company greehill to bring its LiDAR scanning and AI monitoring system to the country for the first time.
The system uses LiDAR and can scan up to 8,000 trees a day – providing accurate measurements and detecting structural weaknesses, health issues and environmental stress factors.
Treetech Managing Director Chris Walsh says trees play a critical role in urban environments.
“Growing more trees keeps towns and cities greener and cooler with every tree absorbing carbon out of the atmosphere. Around the world there are huge increases in the numbers of trees being planted – our system provides a smart tree inventory to ensure they’re well managed.”
“The system provides valuable data to organisations, including councils and transport agencies. It can calculate an area’s canopy cover, how much carbon the trees are removing and information on the health of individual trees to avoid accidents.”
“Falling trees are extremely dangerous, a good example of that is the recent incident involving a tree falling on a caravan at Balmoral Recreation Reserve in Hurunui,” Walsh says.
greehill's state-of-the-art ground-based LiDAR will be attached to a Treetech electric vehicle for scanning up and down the country, similar to a Google Street View car.
It uses remote sensing, panoramic imagery, and artificial intelligence to acquire and measure information. The data is then processed into an AI-powered Smart Tree Inventory which enables users to view individual trees and identify potential hazards before they become critical risks.
“The technology makes arborists far more productive by giving them more timely and accurate information. It also gives organisations the opportunity to survey far more trees - arborists survey up to 150 trees a day, this systsem will do 8,000 with pinpoint accuracy,” says Walsh.
The first towns to be surveyed will be Gore, Invercargill and Auckland as their councils have purchased the service. The subscribed councils will then be able to monitor the health of every tree in its town with just one click.
greehill’s co-founder and Chief Executive Gabor Goertz says the AI technology will not replace arborists but rather empower them.
“The arborist is the doctor, and AI technology is the MRI. Just as doctors use MRIs to get precise diagnostics and improve treatment plans, arborists can use AI-driven tree assessments to enhance their expertise meaning they can spend more time on solutions rather than manual inspections.”
The monitoring system identifies areas with low canopy cover to help define potential planting sites. It can also identify heat islands and evaluate corridor and infrastructure clearance while tracking trends in urban forest health over time.
“It also has a wind modelling system so it can model what will happen to a tree if it is hit by 140km/h gales, helping to identify hazardous trees,” Walsh says.
In 2024 alone, more than 70 cities across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific adopted Smart Tree Inventories to improve urban tree management.
“The interest is rapidly growing and we expect customer numbers will double as cities recognise the need for data-driven, efficient, and proactive approaches to maintain their urban forests. It’s great New Zealand is coming onboard early,” Goertz says.
By continuously monitoring urban trees, the AI-driven technology provides valuable climate insights.
“In 20 years’ time this will be the norm but we want to be ahead of the game so we are urging councils and organisations to work with us now to ensure New Zealand cities, towns and roadways are greener and safer,” Walsh says.'
For more information contact:
Kristie Alexander [email protected]
027 750 6980
