Deploying an early-stage Cyber-Physical System for the implementation of Forestry 4.0 in a New Zealand timber harvesting context

Industry 4.0 is a concept using enabling technologies to increase efficiency for industries that can digitalise production processes. Industry 4.0 is intended to be an interconnected system, shifting from centralised to decentralised production control, with optimisation completed at multiple levels in real time. It facilitates communication between humans and machines with data. Forestry 4.0 is the adaption to the forest industry where high mechanisation rates in forest harvesting operations provide a clear opportunity for digitalisation and optimisation. A Cyber-Physical System (CPS) is an enabling technology that connects the physical and virtual domains. Implementing a CPS across a mechanised harvesting operation presents opportunities such as real-time optimisation of machine tasking or predicting machine maintenance needs. While economic benefits are commonly cited as the main driver for Forestry 4.0, the literature indicates that barriers like technology, costs, education, and organisational structure have hindered progress to date. This paper develops a CPS for harvesting systems. Using a New Zealand-based case study, it demonstrates early-stage implementation where Controller Area Network data was live-streamed from a felling machine, analysed and presented on an interactive online dashboard. This system allows logging contractors to monitor the operations of their machines in real time outside the area of work, while also storing data for future analyses. However, without linking the entirety of the harvesting operations, the economic benefits and realisation of Forestry 4.0 are limited.