Design Challenge - November 2011

Visionengineering

Our concept is focused on high harvesting efficiency, teamwork and automation. The team comprises three members – the ‘headquarters’ truck, the harvester/feller buncher (master vehicle) and the skidder/forwarder (slave vehicle). We designed it with the great North American forests in mind, where there is a very large area to cover with a wide diversity of wood.

The method for harvesting is as follows: the team arrives in a large clearing that will be the meeting place and the drying area for the timber. The office gathers the information and gives the guidelines, directing the other vehicles by providing instructions about the quantity and quality of wood to harvest. The HQ truck is also a battery reloading area because it has a fuel cell and photovoltaic panels on the roof. It is also the checkpoint.

The second vehicle is the harvester/feller buncher or master vehicle. It is in continuous communication with the HQ truck, so it knows where it has to work, and how much and which kind of timber it must harvest; all this information arrives via the head-up display. The master fells the tree, and feeds it through its chassis to be stored at the rear. The big crane can work all around the vehicle, with the cab rotating for an optimum view of where the harvester head is working.

The master is electrically powered, with a battery between the wheels on each side of the vehicle for a lower centre of gravity. The wheels include electric motors for optimal handling, associated with a concept that mixes the tyre and the rim. Loading begins in the mouth at the front and is maintained by the claws at the back. When the loading area is full, the third vehicle, the slave, arrives.

This is a fully automatic vehicle equipped with sensors and cameras that allow it to move by itself. In continuous communication with the master, it knows the exact position and the quantity of the timber. When it arrives at the master, it reverses underneath its claws to transfer the load. When that is done, the slave comes back to HQ by itself and deposits the wood in the drying area. In the event of a problem, the HQ or the master can take control of the slave.

The key to optimum performance of this method is to always have a master in activity and to adapt the number of slaves to the quantity of wood and the surface of the working area. This improves the productivity of both man and machine.

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BIOGRAPHY

Joeri de Vriesere has worked as a designer for European OEMs since 1999. He founded his independent design and engineering office, which specialises in industrial vehicles, in 2005

CONTACT DETAILS

Email: joeri@vision-eng.be

Website: www.vision-eng.be

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