HARVEST TECH 2019
From Augmented Reality glasses to forestry machines without cabs, there were plenty of high-tech ideas up for discussion at the biennial HarvestTECH conference in Rotorua that drew more than 400 participants. Not all of the ideas were revolutionary, some were just about making small advances, but they still got people thinking.
A TOTAL OF TEN NEW PROJECTS ARE already under way as part of the Te Mahi Ngahere I te Ao Hurihuri, or Forestry Work in the Modern Age research programme announced earlier this year.
The $29.3 million, 7-year collaboration between Forest Growers Research Ltd (FGR), forestry machinery manufacturers and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) follows on from the highly successful Steep Slope Harvesting programme that spawned a number of new ideas, including worldleading winch-assist technology.
The latest programme aims to develop a new in-forest harvesting and log sorting system specific to New Zealand’s forests, using automation and robotics.
Keith Raymond, Harvesting Programme Leader for Forest Growers Research, announced ten new projects currently under way to the HarvestTECH 2019 conference in Rotorua. They include:
• Smart yarder grapple and shovel yarder control system in conjunction with Alpine Logging Equipment that will automate tree recovery on steep slopes
• Semi-automated processor/de-barker that is being developed by Waratah that could be used to de-bark logs in the forest to meet phytosanitary standards for export
• Automatic log tagging system being developed with Pocket Solutions for attaching individual log IDs to eliminate manual scaling and weighing
• Automated log residue management system being developed with Mural Town Engineering to build chippers to provide clean chip in the forest or grinders/mulchers for supplying road and mulch aggregate
• Large capacity log loading grapple being developed by Engineering Services Rotorua for large scale loading of trucks in the forest
• Automatic quick coupler being developed with Doherty Engineering Attachments, to finally commercialise this technology to allow a swing machine to swap from a processor to a grapple in seconds
• Robotic log sorter being developed with Skookum Technology for a super skid site on the outskirts of a forest to read tags, scan, sort and load to a stack or gantry • Automated truck loading gantry being developed with Patchell Industries to preload logs onto a gantry for loading a trailer in one movement
• Automated load securing system also being developed with Patchell Industries for remotely controlled load securing of logs on a truck to replace chains
• Automated tag readers being developed with Pocket Solutions for automatically reading log tags for real-time inventory control.
Mr Raymond went on to explain that these automated technologies will help the industry to overcome labour shortages that are already hampering productivity in a number of areas and are forecast to become more of a problem in the future.
“If we can automate these tasks it will help address some of the labour shortages that are limiting industry growth,” he says.
Other outcomes from these projects will be a further reduction in serious harm incidents and improved environmental performance, along with lowering harvesting costs and raising labour productivity.