對(duì)于非公路車(chē)輛來(lái)說(shuō)，有時(shí)新型“汽車(chē)”功能和技術(shù)可能只是一種市場(chǎng)宣傳的噱頭，但這的確也反映了一個(gè)重要事實(shí)——公眾普遍認(rèn)為乘用車(chē)技術(shù)更加先進(jìn)、更加尖端。事實(shí)上，在更多情況下，一些非公路車(chē)輛的確采用了“汽車(chē)”技術(shù)。無(wú)論是道路工程車(chē)輛，還是天天翻滾在灰塵泥土中的建筑機(jī)械，汽車(chē)領(lǐng)域的技術(shù)和功能確實(shí)開(kāi)始逐步應(yīng)用于這些非公路車(chē)輛。
近期，非公路領(lǐng)域出現(xiàn)的一款概念設(shè)計(jì)“天才駕駛室（Genius Cab）”就是一個(gè)證明。這款“天才駕駛室”專為建筑、農(nóng)業(yè)和工業(yè)機(jī)械設(shè)計(jì)，預(yù)計(jì)可在未來(lái)2到3年內(nèi)進(jìn)入市場(chǎng)。在13個(gè)參與“天才駕駛室”聯(lián)合研發(fā)項(xiàng)目的合作伙伴中，絕大多數(shù)為非常成熟的汽車(chē)企業(yè)。另外，多家參與項(xiàng)目的供應(yīng)商也表示，公司的汽車(chē)業(yè)務(wù)部為“天才駕駛室”項(xiàng)目做出了巨大貢獻(xiàn)。
作為參與項(xiàng)目的供應(yīng)商之一，德國(guó)博世集團(tuán)（Robert Bosch）主要為“天才駕駛室”供應(yīng)車(chē)身電腦，從而協(xié)助操作員通過(guò)CAN（SAEJ1939）/LIN總線或直接實(shí)現(xiàn)傳感器和促動(dòng)器的集中控制，而且還能同時(shí)控制安裝在駕駛室外部的超聲波傳感器。“天才駕駛室”采用的外部超聲波傳感器可以展示車(chē)輛周邊物體的相對(duì)位置和附近障礙物，提示駕駛員注意危險(xiǎn)情況。操作員可通過(guò)“天才駕駛室”的顯示終端和安裝在車(chē)頂?shù)腍ella Scenario Light工作指示燈獲取信息。
“我們?cè)谄?chē)行業(yè)積累了豐富的系統(tǒng)整合經(jīng)驗(yàn)，這為我們進(jìn)入建筑機(jī)械領(lǐng)域提供了巨大的優(yōu)勢(shì)。”博世商用車(chē)及非公路設(shè)備業(yè)務(wù)部銷(xiāo)售與系統(tǒng)工程高級(jí)經(jīng)理Kai Bohne表示，“目前，我們?cè)诜枪奉I(lǐng)域的業(yè)務(wù)主要集中在液壓、燃油及次處理系統(tǒng)；公司下一步的研發(fā)重點(diǎn)將放在HMI（人機(jī)接口）和電子系統(tǒng)上。”
Bohne表示，“天才駕駛室”使用的超聲波傳感器技術(shù)“與乘用車(chē)非常類(lèi)似”，項(xiàng)目會(huì)將超聲波傳感器安裝在車(chē)輛的前保桿上，協(xié)助高級(jí)預(yù)警系統(tǒng)發(fā)揮作用。
項(xiàng)目的另一個(gè)主要汽車(chē)供應(yīng)商Hella公司也指出，“天才駕駛室”LED工作燈的研發(fā)主要基于之前已經(jīng)應(yīng)用于汽車(chē)領(lǐng)域的矩陣光束技術(shù)。具體來(lái)說(shuō)，矩陣光束LED系統(tǒng)由多個(gè)細(xì)小單位組成，每個(gè)部分均可根據(jù)實(shí)際情況調(diào)亮或調(diào)暗，從而避免“眩光”的發(fā)生。舉個(gè)例子，當(dāng)輪式裝載機(jī)的鏟斗舉起來(lái)時(shí)，光線不會(huì)被鏟斗完全擋住，而是會(huì)從其他角度穿過(guò)去。
在長(zhǎng)達(dá)18個(gè)月的研發(fā)周期中，系統(tǒng)整合一直是“天才駕駛室”合作伙伴的重點(diǎn)工作之一。舉例來(lái)說(shuō)，駕駛室前方由Fritzmeier Systems公司提供的鋁制梁結(jié)構(gòu)也同時(shí)充當(dāng)了整合矩陣光束工作燈的散熱器。
“天才駕駛室”還順應(yīng)了汽車(chē)領(lǐng)域的輕量化趨勢(shì)。這款概念駕駛室采用了最新研發(fā)的模塊化結(jié)構(gòu)，可成功減重30%。“天才駕駛室”采用了焊接鋁材，而后加裝了鋼制EXO-ROPS/FOPS（即翻車(chē)保護(hù)系統(tǒng)/墜物保護(hù)系統(tǒng)）。Fritzmeier表示，用戶可根據(jù)實(shí)際需求選擇不同型號(hào)的保護(hù)系統(tǒng)，重量從11到55噸不等。
此外，“天才駕駛室”還率采用了一款MEKRA Lang公司的可變視角后視攝像頭系統(tǒng)，替代了傳統(tǒng)的后視鏡設(shè)計(jì)，這可以為操作員提供更高的可視度，黑暗中的表現(xiàn)尤佳。目前，這款攝像頭系統(tǒng)已經(jīng)登陸了多款概念公路卡車(chē)，可以在駕駛艙內(nèi)的顯示器上顯示一些傳統(tǒng)視角很難觀察到的區(qū)域，而且還能對(duì)車(chē)輛振動(dòng)進(jìn)行補(bǔ)償，從而提供更加穩(wěn)定的畫(huà)面。
汽車(chē)電纜供應(yīng)商S.M.A. Metaltechnik也參與了項(xiàng)目的研發(fā)，主要為“天才駕駛室”提供一款內(nèi)部熱交換器。該公司聲稱，這款交換器可協(xié)助建筑機(jī)械實(shí)現(xiàn)“效率提升”，是同類(lèi)產(chǎn)品中的首創(chuàng)技術(shù)。從概念設(shè)計(jì)階段起，S.M.A就參與了“天才駕駛室”的空調(diào)系統(tǒng)研發(fā)。這家公司率先采用了已經(jīng)在汽車(chē)領(lǐng)域成功通過(guò)測(cè)試與驗(yàn)證的元件，包括高密度連接技術(shù)，及具備低損耗和高靈活性等優(yōu)勢(shì)的制冷劑軟管。
Grammer Eia Electronics公司產(chǎn)品經(jīng)理Marko Boving表示，由該公司與德累斯頓工業(yè)大學(xué)（Dresden University of Technology）聯(lián)合研發(fā)的人機(jī)接口，靈感也來(lái)源于汽車(chē)內(nèi)飾設(shè)計(jì)，即在操作員的指尖觸控區(qū)域設(shè)計(jì)了多功能控制區(qū)。他說(shuō)，“為什么挖掘機(jī)不能采用這種設(shè)計(jì)呢？這就是我們要努力的方向。”
正如道路上的駕駛員一樣，建筑機(jī)械領(lǐng)域的人機(jī)接口研發(fā)也面對(duì)著操作員防干擾的更高要求。“雖然我們可以顯示大量信息，但你也完全可以選擇忽視或隱藏部分內(nèi)容。對(duì)廠商而言，這在汽車(chē)平臺(tái)很容易實(shí)現(xiàn)。由于僅涉及軟件，因此修改推廣并不困難。
在介紹系統(tǒng)原理時(shí)，Boving還很自然地使用汽車(chē)領(lǐng)域中一個(gè)常見(jiàn)術(shù)語(yǔ)——認(rèn)知系統(tǒng)工程。“我們的工作，就是為滿足用戶的感知需求而進(jìn)行工程設(shè)計(jì)。”
我們可以從“天才駕駛室”的概念看出，未來(lái)的很多汽車(chē)技術(shù)，都將對(duì)非公路設(shè)備的研發(fā)設(shè)計(jì)帶來(lái)更大影響。
Describing new features and technologies for off-highway vehicles as “automotive-style” sometimes comes off as marketing hype—words meant to tap into views that passenger vehicles are more progressive and closer to the cutting-edge. But often the link is more substantive—engineering know-how actually migrated from pavement-bound machines to those that call dirt home.
The latter scenario holds true for a recent concept cab envisioned for construction, agricultural and industrial forklift application that consists of near-series (capable of employment in off-highway within the next two or three years) components and systems. Many among the 13 partners that jointly developed the Genius CAB are firmly established in the automotive industry, and quite of few of these suppliers note the influence their automotive arms played in their contributions to the project.
Robert Bosch is one such company. The Tier 1 contributes the body computer, which enables centralized control of the sensors and actuators via CAN (SAEJ1939), LIN or directly, as well as the ultrasound sensors integrated into the exterior of the Genius CAB to detect dangerous situations by displaying relative positions and nearby obstacles. The information is communicated to the operator via the display terminal and a Hella ScenarioLight installed in the roof.
“We have a lot of experience [with systems integration] coming from the automotive industry, so using that on a construction machine really gives us a big advantage,” said Kai Bohne, Senior Manager of Sales and System Engineering, Commercial Vehicle and Off-road Business. “Our main business in off-highway currently is hydraulics, fuel systems and aftertreatment systems; HMI [human-machine interface] and electronics is the next step on top of that.”
The ultrasonic sensors are “similar technology from pass car,” he said, which would be mounted in the bumper for advanced warning systems.
Hella, another major automotive supplier, notes that development of the cab’s LED worklights was based on its previously-deployed-in-automotive matrix beam technology. Subdivided into multiple units that can be dimmed up or down according to the situation, matrix beam LEDs avoid “dazzling” operators. For example, while the bucket of a wheel loader is raised, it is not illuminated and the light is routed past it.
During the 18-month development process for the Genius CAB, systems integration was a key focus for the partners. One example is the aluminum front beam structure, manufactured by Fritzmeier Systems, doubling as a heat sink for the integrated matrix beam worklights.
The Genius CAB also taps into a trend that is huge in automotive now: lightweighting. The cab features a newly developed modular structure that results in a 30% reduction in weight. A “soft cab” is made from welded aluminum special profiles, and a steel EXO-ROPS/FOPS (rollover protection system/falling object protection system) is attached over the cab as an add-on. This exo-structure can be variably adapted to suit the weight of the machine, according to Fritzmeier, ranging from 10 to 50 t (11 to 55 ton).
Instead of mirrors, a camera system combined with a variable view reversing camera from MEKRA Lang—used for the first time in a cab for an off-highway vehicle—provides enhanced surround visibility, especially in the dark. The system, which has been demonstrated in future-looking on-highway trucks, displays hard-to-see areas at the rear of the vehicle on screens inside the cab, while compensating for the vehicle’s vibrations.
Automotive cable supplier S.M.A. Metaltechnik also contributed to the project, supplying an internal heat exchanger that the company claims is the first “efficiency boosting component of this nature” to be used in a construction machine. Involved in the cab’s air-conditioning system since the concept phase, S.M.A. decided up front to use components that had undergone successful testing and deployment in the automotive sector, including high-density connection technologies and refrigerant hoses featuring low loss and high flexibility.
The inspiration behind the HMI setup developed by Grammer in collaboration with Dresden University of Technology was the car interior—having multifunctional controls at the operator’s fingertips, according to Marko Boving, Product Manager, Grammer EiA Electronics. “Why can’t you do that in an excavator? This is what we focused on,” he said.
As with drivers on the road, operator distraction is a major consideration in HMI design. “Although we can show a lot of information, you can disengage [certain functionalities] or not show them. For OEMs, it’s easy for vehicle platforms; it’s just software, so the modification factor is high.”
Boving used a term common in automotive, of course, to describe the discipline: cognitive systems engineering. “We engineer what you can perceive, and that’s what we did here.”
If the Genius CAB concept is an accurate indicator, it’s easy to perceive automotive technologies and sensibilities having an even greater influence on off-highway cabs in the near future.
Author: Ryan Gehm
Source: SAE Truck & Off-highway Engineering Magazine
未來(lái)，由13個(gè)合作伙伴共同研發(fā)設(shè)計(jì)的“天才駕駛室”將有機(jī)會(huì)應(yīng)用于建筑、農(nóng)業(yè)和工業(yè)叉車(chē)等設(shè)備。這款駕駛室采用了很多乘用車(chē)領(lǐng)域的部件和系統(tǒng)。
博世為“天才駕駛室”提供了車(chē)體計(jì)算機(jī)系統(tǒng)，可協(xié)助操作員通過(guò)CAN/LIN總線或直接集中控制駕駛室的傳感器和促動(dòng)器。
“天才駕駛室”外觀如圖所示，我們可以看到，駕駛室外部的A柱也同時(shí)充當(dāng)了Hella標(biāo)志性照明系統(tǒng)的軌道。 
Grammer公司為“天才駕駛室”提供了完整的用戶接口系統(tǒng)，其中包括懸浮座椅、多功能電子扶手及一款12英寸的多點(diǎn)觸控顯示屏。