TENSTAR Simulation: Learn to drive an excavator + dump truck

Driving an excavator or a tipper is not child's play. If you lack experience, you can cause a lot of damage on the construction site. To prevent this from happening, it is better to practise in a simulator beforehand. We asked TENSTAR Simulation to show us how and where such a training device can be used.

Excavator and tipper driving simulator

Felix Rother: Ms. Lottmann, it looks like a computer game freak's paradise here! But it's actually a bit more serious, isn't it? Lisa Maria Lottmann: That's right. Of course we are happy when people who use our product also enjoy it. But it's not a computer game, even if the graphics are of course very good, it's a training device. Yes, we want to train the drivers of future machine operators and introduce them to the machine safely without being dependent on the weather. Driving machines always involves a form of responsibility. Felix Rother: Is the whole thing always done in pairs here or can it also be done alone? Lisa Maria Lottmann: No, you can also do it alone, but in this case it makes a lot of sense because we are in a multi-machine environment. This means that the two drivers - the one on the left is driving the excavator and the one on the right is driving the tipper - are in the same environment and can work together, so to speak. We can see here on the monitor what the two are doing. We can see it from the outside. The excavator driver naturally sees his view and the tipper driver sees his view. This means that you can learn to work together carefully and well and also comply with all safety regulations. And simply train that.

Felix Rother: Has there ever been anything like this in a two-person constellation before or is it completely new? Lisa Maria Lottmann: It has been done before, but we are the first to actually simulate it so well that it really works. Of course, we are constantly developing new systems and the learning programs are always being expanded. We are always adding more machines, which of course means that we don't just have the excavator and the tipper, but in this multi-machine environment we can also drive combine harvesters and another driver can drive the trucker and practise driving, threshing, so to speak, because it's always complicated. You have to look out the back, you can do that too. We don't have a rear view here at the moment - a rear window view. We have that at the back of our simulator, that we can look out the back and that makes it very real. Felix Rother: Who is this for? Is it for companies or is it if I want to get an excavator driver's license - is it also for me or is it only for companies? Lisa Maria Lottmann: It's certainly something for you too, because it makes sense to train beforehand. Our target group is of course driving schools, universities, vocational schools, any kind of institution that trains several students is of interest to us. But also the big machine manufacturers, who might want to put their cabs on our simulator in their own driver training centers, that we set up the complete hardware for brands? Yes. Felix Rother: Can I perhaps sit in too? I think my colleague is just about finished. Lisa Maria Lottmann: Yes, that's no problem at all and it's the whole point. Learning while having fun. Just sit down. You drive the tipper, then we can drive around.

Practicing excavator and tipper driving with a simulator

Felix Rother: I think I'm losing a lot of dirt here, I can just see it in the rear-view mirror. That's what the simulator is for, or to train me for something like this. Lisa Maria Lottmann: To practise that! If you look behind you on the monitor, you can see your position, so you're about to tip over, so to speak. But that's also the nice thing about it, you can really push your limits on the simulator and simply find out how my machine moves. How does my machine react to different terrain? So, you've just been on the verge of tipping over, now straighten yourself out and then you won't lose any more dirt. Felix Rother: How long do I have to practise on a simulator like this before I can actually go out, sit in the excavator and start digging? Lisa Maria Lottmann: That's the nice thing about our system, the didactics of the learning program are really designed so that even someone who has never sat in a machine before can start and get to know the machine first. Actually a small theoretical part. Where am I actually located? What kind of machine am I riding? A little technical data. The next important step for us is safety. The most important safety rules. Then, of course, comes maintenance. Daily maintenance. This is simply incredibly important for every machine owner in order to keep repair costs as low as possible. These are the first steps - for someone who really has no idea - and then it builds up from there. How long does it take? It's quite a few hours that you spend here with the machine.

Felix Rother: It all looks very realistic. We have 3 monitors here, I really feel like I'm in a tipper truck. How realistic does it get now? It goes on and on. Lisa Maria Lottmann: The future is definitely virtual reality. We already have the first programs that run with the goggles. That's certainly the future and we can still do a lot there.

Felix Rother: So with these glasses I can do without the monitors completely? Lisa Maria Lottmann: Not quite, no. But it's in the making, so I can't say much about it yet. Felix Rother: Well then we'll just meet again in 3 years. Then without monitors and only with glasses. Then all that remains for me to say is thank you, good luck and see you in 3 years' time. Lisa Maria Lottmann: Thank you very much. Bye.

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