Gerridae is a tree harvester designed for minimizing the damage done to the soil in the forest during the forestry operations. Within Gerridae’s extendable counter weight, the vehicle’s total weight is reduced by almost half of the current harvesters in the market. Also it’s flexibility provides many other benefits as easy transportation, better access to cabin, better articulation in the forest and better visibility.

THE FUTURE WORKING ENVIRONMENT IN COMMERCIAL VEHICLES

I studied users' environment in their work area, and asked many questions about their work life, lifestyle, values, personal identity, devices they use and desires to get the right insights from the real user.

Throughout the visit, one of the most important point was regarding the environment they are working. Because of the weight of the vehicles, the ground is damaged and might even be displaced. It’s not just the ground they damage, but also the other healthy tree roots, livings and eventually the ecosystem.

Another big problem that I've seen during our research studies was, falling down while trying to jump on or jump off. In order to enter or exit the cabin, the operator needs the deal with a height of 1.2 meters.

When I asked if there is a common disease that operators usually have, we got the answer as “neck and back pain”. Operators need to move their head and body so much around, and it causes spinal diseases. So, lack of visibility plays a huge role with their health.

My Goals were;

Minimizing the damage done to the environment

Eliminating the cabin access injuries

Increasing the flexibility of the vehicle

Maximizing the visibility during operation

The main purpose of this project was applying a more theoretical approach to identifying potential products and solutions. The key point with this project was using and practicing abilities for new thinking and innovation with considering the balance of interests of the users and the manufacturers.

After visiting the manufacturers and users, we started an interactive, creative group process aims at getting a profound common understanding for the users, their needs, wishes and desires.

The initial user research phase was followed by a three-day User Experience Workshop focusing on the user experience. During the first stage, we organized the outcomes with defining some patterns between them as “user, environment and product.

Later on, within a smaller group, one chosen problem area was further mapped out by incorporating brainstorming techniques. Moreover, initial solution proposals were elaborated for further discussion and development.

As a final stage for the research, one problem and a possible solution were chosen within a group and further developed. This time, quick mock-up simulation methods were allowed to evaluate ideas.

After the research studies, it was time to see the big picture and define the goals and wishes of the project individually.

In the beginning of the design process, a number of concepts were developed to explore the extent of possibilities. In this phase, technical limitations were overlooked to allow a free and wide ranging exploration.

Later on that stage, after generating some initial ideas, I've been to “our user's” Stefan’s home to have some feedback and more insights for a refined evaluation.

After the refinement sketches, I started working on proportions, semantics and colors with understanding the insights we got from our research studies

I started building a CAD model as a mock-up to see the proportions and the parts that need to be detailed and refined. After having some visual and technical insights from the CAID model, I started refining the details within the terms of overall form language, ergonomy and visibility.

Than this user oriented process led me to come up with my final product "Gerridae".

Gerridae is not only an environmentally friendly product. It also has so many benefits to the user regarding safety and productivity.