Portal de Cartagena
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The doctoral thesis of Lola Ojados González at the Polytechnic University of Cartagena (UPCT) on the automatic arc anti-roll on tractors and the training with simulator developed by the research group on New Safety Devices in Machines has received a second prize in the XXIX International Conference on Graphics Engineering held at the University of La Rioja.
These developments have already been awarded at international congresses held in Singapore, in the Portuguese city of Braganza and in Cartagena de Indias (Colombia).
The doctoral research showed that the deployable roll-over protection structure developed and patented by the UPCT prevents entrapment of the driver, while training with driving simulators increases awareness to avoid dangerous situations of agricultural workers, according to the thesis directed by Bernardo Martín Górriz and Isidro Ibarra Berrocal.
"Inadequate use of the roll-over protection structure on agricultural tractors contributes to the occurrence of numerous serious accidents when the tractor overturns.
These accidents are the main cause of death in the agricultural sector, "recalls the new doctor by the UPCT.
To help solve this problem, this group of researchers from the Polytechnic designed built and conducted tests with an automatically deployable protection structure.
In the patented prototype, called HydraROPS, two levels of assistance were established for lifting the folding safety arch.
At the first level, when the driver decides to change the position of the safety bow, he performs the manual activation of the device.
In the second level, the automatic activation of the security arc deployment is carried out without the intervention of the driver.
At this level, a telephone message with the exact location is automatically sent thanks to the incorporation of a GPS module to contact the emergency personnel.
To make the development economically viable, the hydraulic power of the tractor was used to activate the protection structure, and to ensure the safety of the driver, a pressure accumulator was included in the hydraulic circuit, which increased the speed of deployment of the protection structure.
"It has been proven that the automatic deployment time of the safety arc is sufficient to avoid entrapment of the driver and that the electronic control system can correctly predict the rollover", Ojados highlights.
HydraROPS can be installed on tractors equipped with a certified rollover protection structure.
The installation in commercial models of tractors does not modify the protection structure, so it is not necessary a new certification of the same.
Virtual reality simulator
On the other hand, the group has developed and evaluated a driving simulator for tractors in which HydraROPS is integrated, using immersive virtual reality.
The simulator has been designed to train drivers so that their use minimizes rollover risk.
"In the agricultural sector, the driving simulators of tractors are useful to raise awareness among drivers in situations of risk that are not feasible to reproduce in a real environment due to the high risk of tipping", comments Ojados.
The simulator includes a movement platform that has been adjusted for this particular application, which has been used to train drivers in safe driving techniques.
"To reduce the consequences of tractor rollover accidents in the agricultural sector, it is essential to promote training activities aimed at avoiding misuse of the roll-over protection structure," he adds.
After the experience of driving the tractor with the simulator, the perception of risk and safety increased for all participants, as was proven.
"The use of the tractor driving simulator is described as a positive experience for all the groups of participants studied as it can help them drive more safely, and highlights the need to implement more training programs in occupational safety "He concludes.
Source: UPCT
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