Joel Witschi

Work

About

Joel Witschi

Joel Witschi

Work

About

Njord

Bachelor's degree

2022


Autonomous forestry vehicle

North is my bachelor thesis and was created in collaboration with Emanuel Etter. The aim of the thesis was to develop a concept that can increase efficiency in a part of Swiss agricultural economy with the help of digitalization. During the conceptual phase, we decided to develop a vehicle concept for forestry. Important elements that we elaborated were the modularity of the vehicle.

In addition, it was important to us that the vehicle provides support and does not operate fully autonomously. In order to enable versatile applications, it was also important to develop a compact design. I revised the project in 2023, only creating a new 3D visualization in Blender.

Njord

Bachelor's degree

2022


Autonomous forestry vehicle

North is my bachelor thesis and was created in collaboration with Emanuel Etter. The aim of the thesis was to develop a concept that can increase efficiency in a part of Swiss agricultural economy with the help of digitalization. During the conceptual phase, we decided to develop a vehicle concept for forestry. Important elements that we elaborated were the modularity of the vehicle.

In addition, it was important to us that the vehicle provides support and does not operate fully autonomously. In order to enable versatile applications, it was also important to develop a compact design. I revised the project in 2023, only creating a new 3D visualization in Blender.

Njord

Bachelor's degree

2022


Autonomous forestry vehicle

North is my bachelor thesis and was created in collaboration with Emanuel Etter. The aim of the thesis was to develop a concept that can increase efficiency in a part of Swiss agricultural economy with the help of digitalization. During the conceptual phase, we decided to develop a vehicle concept for forestry. Important elements that we elaborated were the modularity of the vehicle.

In addition, it was important to us that the vehicle provides support and does not operate fully autonomously. In order to enable versatile applications, it was also important to develop a compact design. I revised the project in 2023, only creating a new 3D visualization in Blender.

Future forestry

Njord offers efficient and sustainable solutions for forestry work. Based on a robust base platform, the system can be adapted to your specific requirements with the modular extensions. The Njord irrigation module enables effective watering of young forests, even during dry periods.

The timber transporter module enables autonomous transport of felled tree trunks to predefined locations. Thanks to the innovative steering technology, the forest floor is protected. Control is carried out via remote control to optimize work processes in the forest. Njord revolutionizes forestry work.

Design process

In the first step of the design process, we allowed our creative mind complete freedom. In doing so, we attempted to generate initial designs that adhered to previously defined criteria, but could also deviate from them to promote idea development. Thus, we had a variety of design approaches.

In the next process step, we defined important points that should convey the visual impact of our design: stability, sturdiness, and modularity. Based on these criteria, we identified the design elements that could convey the visual impact defined by us. With these specifications, we refined our design and first developed the base platform and then the two modules.

Visual impact

The design of Njord conveys stability, steadiness, and modularity. Design elements that enable this are corrugations, the steel tube construction, a low center of gravity, and a wide track width, that is the ratio between the vehicle's height and width, as well as upward-tapering lines. Further formal details such as joints and form-fits emphasize these characteristics.

The orientation, or in other words, the direction of travel of Njord is mainly controlled by the modules. It is additionally supported by the lighting, white and red lights. Njord successfully combines aesthetic and functional principles.

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