Robotics in forestry

Authors: Richard Parker, Karen Bayne, Peter W. Clinton
Publication: New Zealand Journal of Forestry, Volume N.Z.J.For. 2015, Issue N.Z.J.For. 60(4) 2016, pp 8-14, Jan 2016
Publisher: New Zealand Institute of Forestry

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Abstract: New technologies are increasingly being integrated into everyday tasks to assist users and could radically change the nature of how industries operate. Forest harvesting operations have been traditionally considered physically demanding and potentially dangerous, with forest workers on foot exposed to heavy and fast-moving trees, logs and machinery. Many tasks in forestry have already been mechanised to reduce hazards to the worker and increase productivity. For example, the axe was replaced by the chainsaw, which was replaced by the harvester. Workers on log landings have been displaced by delimbing machines and breakers-out by grapple carriages. A recent survey of New Zealand forestry staff found an acceptance of the introduction of robotic devices in forestry, but a caution to manage carefully their impact on employment in small rural communities (Bayne and Parker, 2012). This paper provides a broad background to robotics and then focuses on aspects of robotics relevant to forestry.

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