Get the inside story on robotics in forestry

AS FOREST OWNERS AND CONTRACTORS LOOK TO GREATER USE OF robotics and technology to improve safety, increase productivity and make up for the shortage of workers, the biggest issue facing them is knowing which direction to take.

We’re not alone.

Technology development and the pace of change in recent years has been rapid and exciting for many, including the forestry industry. Research suggests that by 2019, around 35% of leading businesses will be exploring the use of robots to automate operations.

Forestry is already using new technology in ways that wouldn’t have been thought possible a decade ago, with remote operation of equipment, robotic felling and extractions systems all being explored. New ideas, such as the use of virtual reality goggles for operators working log loading cranes remotely from the relative safety of a truck cab are already in use.

“Advancements in robotics and automation for forestry companies, everything from planting, silviculture, wood harvesting, extracting the wood from the forest site and transporting logs to the port or processing plant are moving at a fast pace,” says Grant Dodson, Chairperson of the Southern Wood Council (SWC).

To provide local operations with an insight into just where the technology is heading, both internationally and locally, and the opportunities for using remote controlled and autonomous machinery, the SWC is running a meeting for the forest products industry in the lower South Island.

Rien Visser, Forest Engineering, School of Forestry, University of Canterbury will be presenting his findings to local companies from just completed research undertaken for the Australian forest products sector in late 2017. It looks at remote control, tele-operation and automation of forest operations, both inside and outside the forestry industry.

“There are some clear near-future opportunities, including operating extraction machines such as skidders and forwarders without an operator,” says Prof Visser.

“This will not only increase efficiency but allow good operators to work on more complex machines and provide a unique opportunity for new equipment design.

“Advanced robotic systems are already commonplace in controlled workspaces, such as factories. The future of wood harvesting systems is most certainly going to be robotic. The SWC meeting will be exploring the use of remote controlled or autonomous machines in these more complex environments like forestry operations,” says Mr. Dodson.

The meeting take place in Balclutha on Wednesday, March 14.

NZL