Vandersault | Design Portfolio of Joachim Falck-Hansen

joachimfh(at)gmail.com

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GUI FOR KOMATSU FORESTRY MACHINES

Project done in collaboration with Valmet/Komatsu and IDEO Interaction Designers from Munich. My interest in this project revolved around how logical and efficient the machine translates its actions into graphical visual information to the harvester. Following this analysis my aim was to extract and define deficiencies, and to suggest improvements from a usability perspective.

FINAL PROPOSAL

The reason I chose the vertical format, is because the operator fells the tree to the left and to the right accordingly, without the current interface telling the operator this information.

The proposed sequence of action is all about giving subtle but clear feedback. The saws are displaced smoothly accordingly to where in the tree they are, whereas the bucked length is displacing itself in immediate motions, without showing movement. Information about quality and assortment has fade outs, due to the nature that they do not displace themselves, and they change quite often. To not create too much visual clutter, this has been chosen to have a smooth behavior.

An orange indicator of acceptable distance will make a presence whenever the saw is within the pricelist constrain. The green light will indicate that it is ready to cut, and while performing the cut the saw will turn green. All this for elevating the peripheral use.


DESIGN PROPOSALS

I´ve worked on weaving the information to a single consistent unit. With the peripheral vision it would be possible to detect tree identity, quality of the tree and positioning of saw and when the tree is ready to be felled. The current situation involves identifying species through color and I have preserved these codes. What is a significant change is that the user can see the whole tree at any time, because of its flexible format. Also emphasis has been put on bringing to life the mechanical suggestions as to where in the tree it is optimal to cut. The pricelist suggests a length, which accordingly becomes the goal of the harvester. When an orange light is activated the saw is 10 cm apart from this distance. When sawing an instant blink is given and the cut part of the tree fades out. The final interface has ended up becoming as minimal as possible. If the tree is to show orientation it does not need to have indications of threedimensional vector. I have added very small details to suggest the orientation. In any case, the most important reason for choosing the vertical format in the first place, is because the operator fells the tree to the left and to the right, without the current interface telling the operator this information. A horizontal display of this information will remove confusion to the user.

CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT

In collaboration with the IDEO department from Munich, we conducted an intensive brainstorming session around conceptual ideas of how to deal with the problems of the harvester. Some of the most interesting inputs was about constructing an interface that was first of all personalized. We played with the ideas that there could be a journey calculator, a length visualizer, a mood board, seasonal screen variations, indications of quality through mere visuals. Since the overall goal has been to increase productivity, these would be key improvements to help work faster, but not the least make it easier in the learning process.



INTERFACE INCONSISTENCIES

A visible aspect that is clearly inconsistent is the direction of the felling. Whether the harvester cuts the trees to the left or the right the visual representation on the screen serves only justice in the case that trees are cut from left to right, which was not the case.

RESEARCH

One of the central dilemmas in this study is the neck pain caused by the screen placement. To minimize this, I am proposing two new displays along the A-pillars, one which will give live feedback information more clearly, and the second screen for the purpose of motivation and better overview of productivity for the operator himself and his colleagues. The pillars are to be used as peripheral instruments, so as to avoid shifting sight attention.

PROJECT FRAME

Users of forest machinery are subject to rigid working environments, with intense vibrations, loud sounds, and extreme weather conditions. Harvesters procede with felling, delimbing and cutting a tree within as little as twenty seconds. The user´s graphical display of live feedback is located on a small and compact screen placed below the front windshied. This information is indispensable for the tree cutting process.