The equipment’s technological evolution to reduce the cost of operations and the risks of those working in forestry areas is currently one of the most important premises for the modernization of forestry operations. Therefore, it is crucial to adapt innovative automation, sensing and remote data collection solutions to the specificity of forestry operations and equipment in Portugal, responding to this sector companies’ requirements and contributing to the dissemination of these new technologies.
INESC TEC is working on an optimization model applied to Forscope, a prototype decision support system adapted to the forest. This advanced planning system is an important step towards the digitalization of the forest, as integrates tools that modernize and provide more efficiency to the forest supply.
Forscope provides, for example, daily and monthly plans distributing the equipment and machines to the different harvesting locations, estimates material flows and working hours in each location (productivity) and defines the best transport routes, minimizing logistical and operating costs and providing a real-time view of the activities carried out in the forest. It also incorporates a module for monitoring ongoing activities, through an Internet of Things (IoT) platform that receives data from sensors installed in harvesters and forwarders, allowing operations to be controlled and replanned.
This system promotes the improvement of available equipment, providing them with the capacity to perform forestry operations with environmental efficiency and at a cost compatible with the economics of the process and the product.
