STUDENTS studying for a career in agriculture and engineering are learning how drive tractors, diggers and combine harvesters without even leaving the classroom, thanks to a £222,000 investment in cutting edge technology.
Three new hi-tech simulators at Wiltshire College & University Centre’s Lackham campus allow students to get behind the wheel of expensive machinery and learn the basics before they drive the real thing.
Fred Gwinnett, Deputy Head of Land Based Studies, said while the three Tenstar simulators, which cost more than £222,000, can never replace being at the controls of the real equipment, it gives students valuable time at the wheel in a safe situation.
“I can watch everyone in a controlled environment and if there is an accident it is only a simulation,” he said. “It just gives them an opportunity to build up their confidence.
“I can bring students who haven’t driven a tractor before in here and we can pretty much replicate everything up to the point that you'd actually turn the key in a real tractor.”
The simulators, which can replicate a range of vehicles, take students carefully through the basic component and control identification before allowing them to start driving.
They can progress gradually through a range of tasks, from grain carrying, towing and digging to complex jobs such as harvesting, on different terrains to take away the fear factor when they progress to the real thing.
Screens provide lifelike front and rear views that replicate exactly what they would be seeing if they were on the real vehicle, while engine sounds, cab movement and vibration add to the realism.
Mr Gwinnett said: “We started our Level 1 students who had no driving experience on the simulators and when I took them into the real tractors they still needed instruction but within an hour, they were driving around.”
Year Two Land Based Engineering student Tom Alder, 18, of Marlborough, said using the simulator is good preparation for driving out in the real world. “They are realistic, but it's still a whole different thing doing it in real life,” he said. “But you have some idea, you have the knowledge how to operate it.”
Year Two One student Laycee Jones, 16, from Bristol, said the simulator gave her confidence in getting to grips with the digger she was operating on the simulator. “It will really help, especially when there are a lot of us trying to get into the real vehicles,” said the Land Based Engineering student.
Harry Turner, 19, from Avebury, is also a Year Two Land Based Engineering student and has found the simulator’s programme for inspection and maintenance useful. “It makes you go around the vehicles checking each component to see if it is in good condition,” he said.
“If you miss anything you have to go back, which helps it to become second nature.” Mr Gwinnett added: “The simulators are a really good educational tool because the students learn all of the pre-start checks and then in the workshop when I give the students the check sheets they know exactly what they're doing.”
The simulators are being used by students studying horticulture as well as agriculture and engineering. “Driving these valuable machines is part of every course so these simulators really help,” said Mr Gwinnett. “And even if you're going to repair something, you need to know how to drive it.”
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