CAN in heavy machinery simulation

Source: CAN Newsletter  December 2010

“It takes two to tango, but three to build a simulator,” says Johan Granström, Sales & Marketing Manager for Oryx Simulations AB. Oryx, a spin-out company from Umeå University, specializes in building simulators for applications as wide ranging as excavation, drilling and mining, forestry harvesting and container handling. Granström explained that each of its simulators call on three areas of expertise: The machine manufacturer for the original machine design know-how; a training organisation that interprets what the operator needs to learn in order to correctly, efficiently and safely manipulate the equipment; and Oryx’s expert real-time simulation and visualization skills, to bring the project to reality. Notably, whilst Oryx’s spin-out was supported by Komatsu Forest, which remains one of its principal shareholders, the company now works with many other well-known names in heavy industry, such as ABB Cranes, Atlas Copco, Kalmar Industries and Volvo Construction Equipment.
What makes Oryx’s simulators unique is their uncanny ability to replicate a machine’s real environment to the smallest detail. This means not only reproducing the operator’s cabin in its entirety, but also being able to imitate the weight and pressure experienced by the machine in a particular situation. For example, an excavator operator feels the weight and resistance when digging, a tree harvester operator feels the weight of the tree and the STS crane operator experiences how sudden action will affect the pendulum movement of a container. “The simulation extends as far as being able to reproduce how the machine will react in different weather conditions, for example, how rain will reduce the friction between the vehicle and the ground,” adds Granström.