Plustech Oy · legged machine
Walking Forest Machine
Plusjack
A driver-operated six-legged logging machine whose walking motion was inspired by ants, meant to tread lightly on forest soil. It never entered series production.
- Price
- —Not published
- Height
- 450 cmTaller than 100%
- Weight
- 13000 kgHeavier than 100%
- Payload
- —Not published
- Speed
- —Not published
- Battery
- —Not published
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Why it matters
The best-known six-legged walking harvester: a 13-tonne forestry machine that could walk sideways, turn in place and step over obstacles.
Real-world use
Three units were built for testing and demonstration; John Deere gave the last one to Lusto, the Finnish Forest Museum, in 2011.
Timeline
- Released
- Not yet
Maker
Plustech OyCompany · FinlandHow it stacks up
Against other legged & novel that publish the figure. Pick a measure.
Walking Forest Machine (Plusjack) is taller than 100% of the 22 other legged & novel that publish a height. Bars show the 7 closest in date.
Walking Forest Machine (Plusjack) is heavier than 100% of the 25 other legged & novel that publish a weight. Bars show the 7 closest in date.
Not published by the maker: speed, payload, joints, battery, price.
Public attention
A historic robot: no longer sold or in use, so it is not ranked against current machines.
- No Wikipedia article of its own yet
- 2 news stories from reputable press listed on this page
Measures how much people read and write about a robot, not how good it is. Measured 2026-10-14; same method for every robot. How it is measured
What’s inside
The parts the company has talked about publicly.
- Movement
- Walks on legs
- How it runs
- Assisted. A driver in the cab steered it with a joystick while its computer worked out how to move and place the six legs.
- Actuators & motors
- Six articulated hydraulic legs; can walk forward, backward, sideways and diagonally, turn in place and step over obstacles.
- Hands
- Timberjack harvester head on a crane (loader) for felling and handling logs.
- Compute
- On-board computer controls direction, speed, step height, gait and ground clearance; Timberjack measuring and control system runs the harvester head.
- AI & software
- Single-joystick operator control; Timberjack Total Machine Control regulates loader and engine.
- Other details
- About 13 t, 5.75 m long, 2.75 m wide; changeable 'shoes' adjust ground pressure to limit soil damage.
From the maker
Walking Forest Machine (Plusjack) is the only machine from Plustech Oy (Timberjack R&D unit, later John Deere) in the atlas.
Made, sold and where
Unit counts are usually company figures; analysts often disagree.
- Price
- Not published
- How to get one
- No official buying page found
- Built
- Three units for testing and demonstration
- Sold or delivered
- never put into series production
- Where it is sold or used
- Finland (Plustech Oy, Timberjack R&D unit)
- Customers and pilots
- None; John Deere gave the last unit to Lusto, the Finnish Forest Museum, in 2011
News
The latest 2, newest first. Summaries are ours; tap through for the original.
- Defense Tech spots the giant forest walker
Military.com's Defense Tech blog described the John Deere subsidiary's six-legged log-hauling machine and its low-impact design.
Military.com - Six-legged Finnish logging machine
Boing Boing highlighted the Timberjack walking harvester and how it adapts its steps to the forest floor.
Boing Boing
Sources
Figures come from press coverage. Every link below backs something on this page.
Photos and logos only identify each robot and its maker. Simbeing is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsing any company, and nothing here is advertising. Figures are for statistics only and are not advice of any kind. Terms of use