The new forwarder from Komatsu is a standard model, which facilitates the further development of remote control and machine automation.

Photo: Julio Gonzalez, Skogforsk

With a new forwarder from Komatsu at the technology lab in Jälla, Skogforsk is taking the next step in the automation of forest machines. The machine is prepared for remote control, among other things.

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

It was delivered earlier this autumn to the Troëdsson Forestry Teleoperation Lab in Jälla, outside Uppsala, where Skogforsk develops remote-controlled and autonomous forest machines. With the Komatsu forwarder, Skogforsk can now take the next step as it is a standard machine, which corresponds to today’s real forestry.

“So far, we’ve been working on a concept machine, a bit of a prototype. Komatsu, on the other hand, is recognizable in the industry and becomes easier to relate to. This, in turn, makes it easier to take the technology further towards practical use in forestry,” says Tobias Semberg, researcher at the Forestry Research Institute of Sweden.

Faster development

An important innovation is that the machine is equipped with a module for remote control, which means that the researchers’ systems can be connected directly, without complicated intermediate steps. In addition, the Forestry Research Institute will have access to important technical information.

“For example, it makes it easier to build robot models of the machine,” says Tobias Semberg.

Skogforsk’s technology lab collaborates with Umeå University, which has already been working with Komatsu machines in the research. Much of the research concerns the art of pre-training AI models on synthetic data from large amounts of simulations. With the new forwarder, it will be easier to achieve higher transferability and faster iterations in that research.

“Of course, this makes it easier to collaborate with the Forestry Research Institute. We look forward to continuing to develop our joint work and contribute to the technological development of forestry,” says Martin Servin, Associate Professor of Digital Physics at Umeå University.

Peter Assarsson, Head of Research at Komatsu Forest, emphasizes the importance of supporting research that contributes to safer, more efficient and more sustainable forestry.

“By enabling remote control, and sharing technical knowledge, we open the door to faster innovation and new collaborations, where academia and industry develop together,” says Peter Assarsson.