A Glimpse into the Future – A New Concept Prototype of Assisted Steering is Unveiled

Komatsu Forest has developed a concept prototype called assisted steering; this feature offers numerous benefits that contribute to increased safety, productivity, and improved operator comfort.

The initial presentation of this development took place during their open days in June, and it will be big step forward when it actually becomes available.

80,000 Hours

That’s a remarkable amount of work hours for a single machine, the Norcar 600 owned by Erkki Rinne is taken well care of, it even has the original Diesel engine.
Kieran Anders Forestry

Kieran Anders is a forestry contractor working in the lake district. His work involves hand cutting and extracting timber using a skidder and tractor-trailer forwarder.
Promoting safety in the workplace

It is not possible to eliminate chain shot, but there are simple steps that can be taken to reduce the risk.
Glasfryn Fencing and Sawmill

Arwel takes great pride in the fact that the mill has no waste whatsoever, “the peelings are used for children’s playgrounds, gardens and for farm animals in barns in the winter and the sawdust has multiple uses in gardens and farms as well.
Keeping Timber Hauliers Safe

Timber hauliers need to encourage young blood in, and also look after the hauliers we have, we need make the sector a safe and positive place to work.

FIND US ON

The concept prototype is equipped with a range of advanced sensors that enable enhanced reading and analysis of environmental data. This information forms the basis for several significant advantages—for example, the machine can navigate along a predetermined route. This is not about remote-controlled operation, but rather a driver-assistance system designed to boost machine productivity.

“A common behaviour among operators is to stop the machine while operating the crane. With Assisted Steering, we see an opportunity to support the operator by allowing the machine to steer while the operator controls the speed and focuses on crane work. Significant productivity gains can be achieved when loading and driving are performed simultaneously, and we also believe this can lead to a better operator environment and a more relaxing workday,” says Peter Assarsson, GM Strategic Research at Komatsu Forest.

An important benefit of the machine’s ability to read and analyse its surroundings is improved safety. The machine can detect if people are within its safety zone, providing peace of mind for the operator who can fully focus on the machine’s tasks. Also being introduced is an advanced future planning tool for harvester and forwarder operations, based on detailed, site-specific conditions. This tool enables work planning that avoids soft ground, minimises emissions, maximises productivity, and optimises driving routes. The planning system is based on extensive geodata analysis, including terrain, wetlands, ditches, and tree volumes.

What was showcased at Komatsu Days is a subset of the development work within a three-year Chips JU initiative called Agrarsense, in which Komatsu Forest is one of the participating companies.

“The purpose of presenting the concept prototype is to highlight the tremendous development potential within the forestry machinery industry. Extensive testing of the functionality remains before it can be introduced as an option on our machines,” concludes Peter Assarsson.

Quick Facts on Other Forestry Research and Development Collaborations Involving Komatsu Forest:

Komatsu Forest is involved in several key projects aimed at delivering future solutions for forestry. These include the aforementioned Agrarsense project and the XSCAVE collaboration.

AGRARSENSE is a project that takes agricultural and forestry productivity to the next level. The stakeholder group will develop cutting-edge European technology for both electronic components and systems to meet future needs, build European resilience in critical sectors, and strongly contribute to sustainability goals and climate change mitigation.

Together with ten European universities and companies—including Umeå University—Komatsu Forest is participating in an EU project where foundational engineering research meets the latest industrial AI research. The project, called XSCAVE, aims to combine fundamental computational physics with artificial intelligence (AI) to create safe and efficient AI-driven machines that minimise the risk of harm to people or the environment. Komatsu Forest is also developing the concept machine Centipede in collaboration with eight Swedish forestry companies. This new machine concept is designed to move efficiently and gently through terrain, ensuring year-round timber flow.