Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - October 2021 - 10

TECHNICAL INNOVATIONS
Though head-up displays
still face some obstacles to
heavy-vehicle adoption, eyetracking
studies confirm that
HUDs are extremely effective
at relaying critical information
to operators.
MATERIALS
Altair honors weightsaving
innovations
Sustainable and stylish: two words not
commonly paired but that aptly apply to
this year's Altair Enlighten Award winner
for Sustainable Product - Vehicle, the 2021
Ford Mustang Mach-E. The battery-electric
performance SUV with an iconic
badge and 100% " vegan " interior is one of
six category winners - many of which are
relevant for commercial-vehicle application
- to be honored at the 9th annual
lightweighting competition conducted by
global information technology company
Altair and the Center for Automotive
to contort their bodies to see the contents
of the display placed low and to
the side away from their natural eye line
and where they had to focus for the task.
While head-up displays still face
some obstacles to heavy-vehicle adoption,
it is important for OEMs to be able
to freely choose a display size that suits
a vehicle, one that fits the cabin and is
large enough to provide the necessary
information. Larger, more-complex machines
often need to provide more
guidance and information, especially
when aiding less-experienced operators
to meet productivity goals. Technology
platforms that support a split concept
display solution could help in these situations.
Having multiple screens - with,
for example, full information on the
right and key notifications on the left
- makes it possible to present key information
regardless of where the operator
is paying attention.
The latest displays such as the Vision
Line series, which are based on the
iMX8 family of application processors
from NXP, allow the visual user experience
to be modernized and more appealing
for the operator to use, and
they enable the same software base to
be used regardless of display size.
Having the current and next generation
of wired and wireless interfaces such as
CAN, Ethernet and USB allows for connection
to both traditional machine systems
and trending new peripherals, including
Ethernet cameras and lidar.
10 October 2021
One advantage with Ethernet cameras
is that you can connect many cameras on
one network and thus show several camera
streams simultaneously on the same
screen, reducing the number of displays
needed in the vehicle to regain freedom
of placement and visibility of surroundings.
Showing multiple video streams is
one thing - the real power of next-generation
HMI solutions is that they support
the emerging trend of image processing
like 360° surround view (bird's-eye view)
and real-time analysis of the video
stream, allowing for the implementation
of object detection to increase awareness
and operator productivity.
With next-generation computing
technology and solutions for different
equipment types, all supported by a
common platform, designers can
choose a display placement and size
that suits the needs of the end user. For
sectors requiring diverse tasks, such as
construction and agriculture, designers
can tailor the machine system to meet
the wide range of application requirements
rather than cumbersomely installing
a heavy display either out of
sight, out of reach or worst of all, out of
mind. Powerful, graphical displays enable
OEMs and system integrators to
supply industrial machines with the
next step in machine intelligence.
Dr. Markus Wallmyr, head of UX at
CrossControl and affiliated researcher
with Mälardalen University in Sweden,
wrote this article for TOHE.
Research (CAR).
" The 2021 Enlighten Award once again
shines a light on the inspiring work of automotive
engineers worldwide. Now more
than ever, sustainability and emissions
reduction are critical challenges not just
for the automotive sector, but society as a
whole, " said James Scapa, Altair founder,
chairman and CEO. Altair assists lightweighting
efforts by enabling " unprecedented
convergence of simulation, data
analytics and high-performance computing, "
Scapa said, technologies employed
by many of this year's nominees.
While the awards acknowledge the
automotive industry's best initiatives to
reduce vehicle weight and meet emissions
targets, they also consider other
parameters such as cost reduction, improved
performance, part count reduction
and applicability to other vehicle programs.
The new Sustainable Product and
Process categories also consider progress
toward a reduced carbon footprint and
factors such as water/energy consumption
and material reuse and recycling.
" Lightweighting is central to the quest
for greater fuel economy and electrification,
which in turn is vital to the future of
the whole sector, " said Carla Bailo, president
and CEO of CAR. Winners were
recognized in conjunction with CAR's
Management Briefing Seminars.
Sustainable Product -
Component
Magna International won for its active
air deflector and grille shutters on the
TRUCK & OFF-HIGHWAY ENGINEERING
CROSSCONTROL
Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - October 2021

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