Smartphone Capable Forestry Densiometer

thingiverse

Densiometers are straightforward tools employed by foresters globally to approximate the amount of foliage coverage within a specific area of trees. This awareness of coverage empowers logging companies to make informed decisions regarding when forests should be harvested versus when they should be preserved, thereby aligning with the OSAT principle of conserving life on land. The device is intended to function as a stable grid placed over a photo captured with a standard smartphone (although it was originally designed for a Google Pixel 2XL). With its 50 squares, determining tree coverage percentages simply requires counting the "green" squares and multiplying the total by two. Following discussions with a forester, I discovered that they appreciate lightweight equipment (which motivated efforts to reduce plastic usage) while still requiring durability. Both of these factors were taken into account during the design process.