• Swindon & Wiltshire Education, training and skills
• Thursday April 24 2025

Cutting-edge farm vehicle simulators give students a feel for the real thing

Cutting-edge technology is helping students studying for a career in agriculture and engineering to learn how to drive tractors, diggers and combine harvesters without leaving the classroom.

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.

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 Fred. “And even if you’re going to repair something, you need to know how to drive it.”

Pictured: Year one student Laycee Jones, 16, using a digger simulator