Abstract
This paper describes a development of light intelligent collector machine of forest thinnings. Effective utilization of residual wood in the forest land is essential for reforestation. Although the country currently has a vast amount of unused wood left in the forests, there are difficulties in collecting these materials. One reason for such difficulty is the enormous logging cost, which does not make economic sense. To tackle this problem, a low-cost and efficient logging method is desired. In our study, an experimental logging system for forest thinnings was produced and field-tested to verify its effectiveness and issues. As a result, the study found that the machine was able to run on the ground covered in snow or rough slope and log wood of about 20cm in diameter and 4m in length. On the other hand, the grapple presently available was unable to keep its grip on more than one wood. It was also found, among other issues, that the crawler tended to rotate on relatively bigger bumps and therefore required a reveiw on the stopper structure for anti-rotation.
