%0 Research article
%T Comparison of harvester work in forest and simulator environments
%A Ovaskainen, Heikki
%D 2005
%J Silva Fennica
%V 39
%N 1
%R doi:10.14214/sf.398
%U https://silvafennica.fi/article/398
%X Harvester simulators offer a safe and cost-saving method for studying  the basics of harvester controls and working technique. Therefore,  harvester simulators are increasingly being used in the education of  harvester operators. In this study, the objective was to compare  harvester work in real and simulator environments, and to determine how a  professional harvester operator’s working technique may have changed in  the simulator environment. Specific features of the simulator that  encumbered operators’ normal work are also presented; and the  correspondence of the simulator to reality is evaluated. The work of six  professional harvester operators was studied in thinning and in clear  cutting stands in both environments: first in the real forest and  thereafter on the simulator. The results indicate that the operators’  working technique on the simulator was mainly the same as in the real  forest. This means that the same restrictions are valid on the simulator  as in the forest. The basic principles of harvesting must be known so  that high productivity and good quality can be obtained. However,  certain simulator-specific features encumbered the work of harvester  operators. Limited visibility to the side increased the need to reverse  and the 3D-visualization caused failed catches. Improvements in software  would remove some of the defects, e.g. failed felling and cheating in  the felling phase. These results also indicate that simulators can be  used for research purposes.