Posted on 03/17/2005 9:01:01 AM PST by B-Chan
The walking forest machine is Plustech's best-known innovation. The goal of product development was to create a machine that has the best possible working stability and minimum impact on the terrain.
The walking machine adapts automatically to the forest floor. Moving on six articulated legs, the harvester advances forward and backward, sideways and diagonally. It can also turn in place and step over obstacles. Depending on the irregularity of the terrain, the operator can adjust both the ground clearance of the machine and heigh of each step.
The machine's nerve center is an intelligent computer system that controls all walking functions - including the direction of movement, the travelling speed, the step heigh and gait, and the ground clearance. The harvester head is controlled by the Timberjack measuring and control system. To further optimize machine operation, Timberjack's Total Machine Control system (TMC) regulates the functions of machine's loader and engine. All control systems are designed for easy of use. The operator-friendly controls are incorporated in a single joystick.
bump placemarker
Looks like a cricket!
I want it!
From the top, it looks more like an ant, which makes sense when you figure it's built to do what an ant does, only on a larger scale. "Go to the ant, O sluggard, and consider her ways, and learn wisdom" (Proverbs 6:6).
It reminds me of Cootie, the character from that crazy game where you race to assemble a plastic bug.
Those AT-ATs are too tall. Tall = target. All you need to take one down is a couple of guys in a plane and a few hundred yards of cable. The Plustech Walker can hunker down behind trees and walls. In combat, you want to stay low!
I can see the utlility of something like the AT-ST, but the AT-AT is just too big for the battlefield. Makes a great terror weapon, though!
At www.arboristsite.com, there was a lengthy discussion of this machine. Basically, it's best application is areas where lgp is reuired for selective thinning. However, it severely violatesd the kiss principle, and in any logging application, the duty is so severe that using a helicopter and groundmen would probably be more cost effective.
It is still cool as hell!
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