Bad Neustadt a. d. Saale/Hanover. Preh presents its pioneering concept study of an intuitively operated driver's workplace in agricultural machinery at Agritechnica 2017 in Hanover.
Michael Jendis, Director of the Commercial Vehicle HMI Division at Preh GmbH explains: “We want to bring the future potential of the latest control technologies to our customers in a practical fashion. We are therefore presenting the latest innovation from our advanced development in the form of a concept study which enables new ways of selecting functions to be tested directly.”
The Preh vision of an intuitively operated driver’s workplace in agricultural machinery comes in a striking design. It consists of a double display unit and a console with a greatly reduced number of switches thanks to the latest technologies.
The double display unit is moved to the left after the driver has taken his seat, which results in an ergonomically ideal working position. To the right of the driver’s seat is an innovative 2-way drive lever with noticeable corners and edges which is also designed to fit ergonomically and perfectly into the hand. A mini-touch sensor integrated into the surface can be operated by the thumb, which among other things also controls the 7-inch display to the left of the drive lever. In the right half of the double display unit is a touch user interface which can be freely configured. The ingenious innovation here is that if you press your finger on the surface to select a function, you get a noticeable haptic feedback – much like pressing a conventional switch.
Michael Jendis: “With a special actuator unit, we can create high-quality and robust haptic feedback which is series-compatible both for various control systems and touchscreens.”
In addition, there are two rotary adjusters on the touchscreen which were designed as rotating rings, so that in the middle, the driver can look directly at the corresponding representation on the screen. These rotating rings are designed with well-defined detents and in principle can be positioned at different numbers at any point on the surface in a flexible manner according to the requirements of the respective operating concept.
The console’s armrest is equipped with a universal control element. It offers touchpad functions, as well as various freely programmable switches in a closed surface. It also has haptic feedback.
But the future concept also retains proven innovations. Under the display unit on the right, for example, proportional switches for the hydraulic functions based on a classic control panel family have been integrated.
Michael Jendis: “At Preh, we do not design new things from scratch just for the sake of it. Instead, we consciously rely on existing solutions with ergonomically optimal properties which we combine with the latest technical approaches wherever it makes sense – in other words, wherever we find potential for improvement.”
