ELECTRONICS
TTCONTROL
How to keep up with the
evolving world of HMI
THE LATEST HUMANMACHINE INTERFACES IMPROVE EFFICIENCY
AND OPERATOR COMFORT, EVEN IN THE HARSHEST ENVIRONMENTS
was quoted as saying, “everything changes and
nothing remains still.” In our daily life, we are
used to constant interaction with machines and
tools such as smartphones and household
appliances. e way we interact with these
gadgets is changing.
e same is true for the interaction of human
operators with mobile machinery, like
construction or agricultural vehicles such as
excavators, wheel loaders and combine
harvesters. Manufacturers of mobile machinery
continue to improve the e ciency and safety of
these machines in the face of operators’ changing
expectations regarding the human-machine
interface (HMI). Operators themselves are not a
homogeneous group. On the one hand, there are
machine operators with over 20 years of
experience in handling mobile machines. On the
other are young operators – digital natives – who
have grown up with high-end computer games
and smartphones. Consequently, OEMs of mobile
machines are forced to nd new approaches in
the design and development of modern HMI.
Assisting the operator
TTControl, a joint-venture company of
TTTech and HYDAC International, is a leading
supplier of electronic control systems, operator
interfaces and connectivity solutions. It supports
vehicle OEMs in developing new approaches with
its new generation of rugged operator interfaces
called Vision 3. Vision 3 o ers an excellent
answer to the latest requirements for HMI on
mobile machinery.
e enhanced automation of machine
functions and the demand to continuously
increase the number of assistance systems are
among the trends that machine manufacturers
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Our world is constantly moving, or as the
Greek philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus
iVT International Off-Highway 2020
must consider in order to remain competitive.
Due to the signi cant shortage of skilled
operators, a modern machine should be easy to
operate with minimal training e orts. e
number of repetitive tasks and the workload
should be reduced for the human operator. e
reduction in fuel and time consumption due to
the optimized working process not only results in
cost savings for the eet owner but also reduces
polluting emissions.
Multiple interfaces for intuitive overview
When approaching these trends from
a system architecture perspective
one main issue emerges – data
collected by the everincreasing
number of
1,000cd/m²
The brightness of
TTControl’s Vision3
screens – ensuring
perfect sunlight
sensors must be
processed so that it can
be intuitively presented
to the operator. Not only
do the cameras and
sensors connected to the
machine provide
information about the
machine’s surroundings,
sensor data coming from the
environment itself will also be visualized
for the operator. For instance, data retrieved
from other mobile machinery, or even robots
and drones, will be merged and presented
in an intuitive graphical representation of
the environment.
erefore Vision 3, TTControl’s third
generation of displays featuring Vision 312 and
Vision 312Plus, comes with numerous
communication interfaces. Up to four CAN
interfaces are available for visualizing the
machine data. One of these CAN interfaces is
ISOBUS-compliant and can transform the Vision
312Plus device into an ISOBUS Virtual Terminal,
which is important in applications for
agricultural machines like tractors, combine
harvesters, and for implements. In addition, the
displays are available with up to two USB
interfaces and a serial interface.
e Ethernet interface is available either as
standard Ethernet (100BASE-TX) or as BroadRReach
(100BASE-T1). BroadR-Reach is the
evolution of traditional Ethernet and uses
unshielded single twisted pair cables, resulting in
reduced connectivity costs and cabling weight.
is allows the connection of high de nition
digital cameras, a prerequisite for
further image processing like
object or person detection.
Up to ve BroadR-Reach
Ethernet cameras can be
connected when combined
with TTConnect 616,
TTControl’s rugged
Ethernet switch. However,
analogue cameras may
still be preferred for many
applications, particularly
as not all vehicle designs
will be immediately upgraded
readability
with digital cameras. erefore, the Vision 3
display series supports the direct connection of
up to four analog cameras as well.
IoT in the off-highway market
Another megatrend of recent years is the Internet
of ings (IoT), which is highly relevant for the
o -highway machinery sector. ere are a
multitude of advantages for both eet owners
and for human operators as a result of vehicles
being connected to the cloud, enabling remote
diagnostics or so ware updates. is connectivity
technology has supported the emergence of new