Using VR for Efficient Training of Forestry Machine Operators

This paper presents the results of two years of field trials of a 3D graphical simulator of forestry machines called processing harvesters, for the training of students in wood harvesting.It is a comparative study of the results between the traditional training where students go directly from the classroom to real machine operation in the woods and a new VR augmented training. The results indicate that the addition of 25 hours of hands-on VR training increases by 23% the volume of wood harvested and reduces by 26% the repair and maintenance costs during the first month of operation in forest.The use of VR also allowed precise recording and monitoring of the evolution of trainees' performance during their training sessions, showing learning curves that decrease with time for all the defined performance criteria (execution time, error rate and precision).The field trials were held in a training center with four classes of eleven students in wood harvesting and are the first known experiments concerning the use of virtual reality technologies for the training of students in forestry.