As urbanization pushes parks into tighter spaces the requirement of a quiet, flexible Arborist becomes more important. Being an Arborist though is tough; positioning a throw-line in the canopy takes time, and climbing the tree is hard work. The equipment is heavy, and he/she always has to look out for people on the ground before making every cut. The CORE range rethinks how Arborists do their work. It includes a new lightweight chainsaw, a harness that powers the whole system and an assistance drone to make the climb effortless; making the Arborist's job safe, efficient and enjoyable, while providing urban nature for generations to come.

The Core range rethinks how Arborists do their work. By re-distributing key components of the saw and harness, we have been able to create new interactions with the equipment not possible before. Since the heavy components of the saw are now placed comfortably close to the user, we are now able to incorporate new functions, including reach extension, and blade rotation due to the lower weight of the saw, therefore mini- mising how many times the Arborist needs to re-position themselves within the tree.

To start their job the Arborist has to position themselves within the tree, usually by throwing an anchor line as high as they can, then positioning it higher as they go in order to reach their ideal spot which is as high as possible. With the assistance drone this can be done in one go, removing failed attempts and making sure no lines get tangled during their travel through the tree.

When in the tree, an Arborist usually has a safety lanyard between the harness and the chainsaw in case it is dropped. This is now replaced with a torque cable that provides the same function whilst also transferring power to the chainsaw.

By using the battery and motor within the harness to power the ascender, the most strenuous task of climbing the tree is mitigated. This leaves the Arborist with all the energy for pruning the tree instead of wasting it on climbing.

The design language moves away from the overly expressive tradition of heavy tools we see today and provides a much cleaner and calm aesthetic, expressing a modern take on robustness, which professionals expect from their tools. The compact and simplified form also stems from a real need to minimise the risk of getting caught within the branches, which is one of the biggest annoyances Arborists have with their equipment today.

One of the challenges that faced the team in this project was in determining how the work of an Arborist will be framed in the near future. To tackle this, research reports were obtained from some of the big companies within the sector, outlining how urban green spaces will look in the near future and who will be maintaining them.

Another challenge was in understanding the complexity of the entire workflow of the Arborist, looking at their everyday work from start to finish, and then determining what challenges we could address in order to create most value for the Arborist. In order to do this we immersed ourselves within the lives of our users, spending working shifts with them, in order to deepen our knowledge of the work, and gained feedback from them through our entire process.

By maintaining an holistic approach to the project we were able to design a system of tools that work seamlessly together in order to provide a tailored experience to the Arborist, one that is specifically designed for them and the tasks they have to do. Some of the finer details:

Due to the heavy components being placed much closer to the body, this results in a much more comfortable experience for the user, taking the weight away from their arms and shoulders, causing less stress on the body.

The assistance drone also provides reassurance of the safety of the surrounding area, alerting the Arborist to the presence of nearby pedestrians, meaning he/she can get on with the task at hand, and not have to worry about looking out for people before every move.

By looking holistically at the challenge, a system of products was designed to benefit not only the primary user but also people in the surrounding area. Providing an holistic solution also gives the manufacturer a unique selling point in a competitive market:

By integrating components like the motor and battery inside an ergonomic waist belt, a number of tools can be designed which can make use of this same source, therefore removing the need to place these components inside every tool. Not only does this mean less motors and batteries have to be provided, but it also makes these tools lighter and more compact. This means upgrading is also easier for the manufacturer as when bat- teries and motors evolve, this can be implemented without needing to develop new tools from the ground up.

Access to public green areas is expected to grow to be in demand 24/7. In order to provide urban nature for people there is a need for quiet, flexible and safe park maintenance. By facilitating the work of the Arborist in terms of assisting the climb, making the equipment lighter and enabling safe monitoring of the surrounding area, well maintained parks can be kept without compromising accessibility.

By focusing on battery power we maintain a strong focus on sustainable development and push companiesto move away from gas power. This environmental stance is also reflected in our ambition to consolidate all key components into one driving unit, the harness. This means less components and material for producing a company's comprehensive portfolio.