Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - June 2023 - 25

EXECUTIVE VIEWPOINTS
DIL simulators are being used to simulate the operation of
front-discharge concrete mixer trucks where the need for costly
physical prototypes can be reduced.
the start of a development program, as already practiced
by some of Cruden's automotive customers in the NVH
(noise, vibration and harshness) domain.
Automated operations
There are many simulators active in the development of
automotive ADAS and AV (autonomous vehicle) systems,
both for product development and at universities
engaged in human-factors research. The industrial and
agricultural sectors are in many cases further along the
path to connected and autonomous vehicles than is the
case with passenger vehicles. Agricultural machines, for
example, are loaded with sensors and must have complex,
agnostic interfaces with third-party implements.
Many fatigue-reducing innovations in autonomy are
in production or under development. Intelligent, GPSbased
systems steer tractors autonomously for hours
at a time after calculating the optimum path for the
given duration and yield parameters. When harvesting,
automatically coordinating the movement of a combine
with a grain trailer reduces the need for a skilled
operator to be available to drive the tractor.
A driving simulator is a very relevant tool to test
these types of innovations, quickly and in total safety.
Simulators have a proven track record in developing
not just the physical controls and HMI, but in testing at
an early stage the required handovers of control between
operator and machine as well as the associated
monitoring and alert systems.
An agnostic approach is taken when integrating cabin
electronics and third-party engineering tools such as
HIL systems, vehicle-dynamics models and also biometric
tools such as an eye tracker. Integrations are tailored
to the use case and to whichever tools the customer
needs to support its development programs.
At power hydraulics specialist Danfoss, its first
simulator installation located in northern Germany is
TRUCK & OFF-HIGHWAY ENGINEERING
Simulators can help develop not just the physical controls and HMI but also the
required handovers of control between operator and machine, as well as the
associated monitoring and alert systems.
configured to develop and demonstrate to its OEM customers new
innovations in construction-equipment joystick control.
Another Cruden customer simulates the operation of a front-discharge
concrete mixer truck using a DIL system. In the future, the
company envisages more extensive engineering use of driving simulators
in the construction-equipment industry to reduce the need for
costly physical prototypes.
Future possibilities
The industrial and agricultural machinery sectors are just getting
started with driving simulators in engineering applications. The visual
system on the aforementioned tractor simulator, for example, is a
relatively basic projector setup, whereas 360-degree visual systems
and LED walls already are in place at automotive simulation facilities.
The need to monitor what's going on behind a tractor means that
more-enveloping visual systems may feature in future installations,
but extended reality (XR) may offer an alternative to conventional
visuals in applications where driving dynamics are secondary to effective
machinery operation. The need for the driver to look down,
ahead and behind differentiates many off-road situations from those
on-road, for which simulator drivers typically require only a limited
" letterbox " field of view. An XR head-mounted display (HMD) could
prove to be an efficient and flexible way to extend the vertical range
of an off-highway simulator's visual system.
Such a concept could work well with a standard top platform that
Cruden has under development. This would create a simpler and
more flexible simulator by eliminating the need to mount the entire
cab to the platform. Instead, just the seat and controls could be installed,
enabling the driver to interact with the tractor or other offhighway
machine in an immersive virtual realm.
Dennis Marcus, business development manager at Cruden BV, wrote this
article for TOHE as part of the annual Executive Viewpoints series.
June 2023 25
FROM LEFT: MCNEILUS TRUCK AND MANUFACTURING; CNH INDUSTRIAL
Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - June 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - June 2023
