Elmia Wood 2013 – presenting high-tech solutions for tomorrow’s forest industry
Elmia Wood 2013 is a forest technology milestone to the future. Never before have so many innovative products and ideas been presented at a forestry fair. Ever-cheaper and more accessible computer technology is making a huge impact on the advancement of forestry practices.
“To put it simply, we can say that things which only NASA had fifteen years ago can now be bought online for 99 dollars,” explains Torbjörn Johnsen, Business Area Manager at Elmia. “The availability of computer power, processors and sensors is opening up completely new possibilities.”
Elmia Wood has always been a showcase for innovations in forest technology, and many ideas and innovations have seen their first light of day at the fair. But never before has computer technology been so dominant among the big revolutionary innovations and made such a strong impact. Elmia Wood 2013 will enter the history books as the year when tomorrow’s forest machines were unveiled.
Here are some of the most important innovative products at the fair:
Crane tip control
Forest professionals and researchers have been talking about computer-controlled crane work for the past 30 years. It’s now available for the first time on John Deere’s forwarder. The technology is helping to train new operators faster while also improving both productivity and the work environment.
HUD (Head-Up Display)
The technology used on fighter aircraft to display important data in the pilot’s field of vision is now making its way to the forest. Optea AB presents a concept adapted to harvesters whereby data from the harvester’s computer is displayed right in the operator’s field of vision while he is working with the crane and harvester head.
Voice control for harvesters
Innovator Torbjörn Ericsson has gathered the best ideas from the aviation and vehicle industries and combined them with assistive devices for the functionally impaired. The result is T-Bear, a voice-controlled harvester for felling and thinning. The operator has only two buttons to keep track of instead of joysticks, and the wheel hubs are variable to reduce ground damage. Just press a button and say “cut” and the T-Bear does the rest.
Drone technology
Felling technology has advanced a lot over the past 50 years but the tree planting process has remained almost the same. The last big innovations, over 30 years ago, were planting tubes and rooted planting material. But innovator Hans Thunander is now revealing his vision of how planting work can be made more efficient and effective with the help of aerial photos, GPS and robot technology.
The Mantis
The Mantis, a Hexapod Walking Machine, is 2.8 metres high, 5 metres long and 1,900 kilos in weight but the six-legged robot still moves nimbly across the ground. The world’s biggest all-terrain robot can be controlled from both the cockpit and remotely from outside. Designer Matt Denton sees a bright future for it working in the forest.
All these innovations share a common theme: they have become possible thanks to rapid developments in computer technology.
The theme of this year’s Elmia Wood is innovations, new approaches and new economic solutions in forestry. Many exciting finished products and concepts under development are being unveiled for the first time. These can also function as a starting point and foundation for further important inventions, leading to more efficient and smarter forestry in the future.
“Even a small company can reach a wide audience here at Elmia Wood,” Torbjörn Johnsen says. “The fair also functions as a catalyst. People make new contacts through ideas and innovations, and these contacts then stimulate and develop things more, so whole processes are launched.”
Contact:
Torbjörn Johnsen, Business Area Manager, Elmia AB
torbjorn.johnsen@elmia.se
+46 36 15 22 54
Veronika Albert, Press Service, Elmia AB
veronika.albert@elmia.se
+46 36 15 22 34
Meet forestry professionals from all the World
Elmia Wood is the No1 dynamic forestry fair in the world. Every four years you get updated on the latest innovations from all the major machinery manufacturers, expand and refresh your contact network, get inspired and discover masses of new ideas. Welcome to the forests south of Jönköping 5- 8 June 2013.
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