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Truck Cabs Adopt Larger Displays To Boost ADAS Integration
Digital Screens Deliver Clearer Alerts and Enhanced Driver Awareness
Key Takeaways:
- Digital driver displays now replace analog gauges to provide clearer, application-specific information.
- Integrated ADAS warnings use visual, audible and haptic cues to alert drivers to potential hazards.
- TMC is reviewing RP 430B to reflect ongoing ADAS advancements under TechCelerate Now Phase 2.
Innovations in the technologies underlying the in-cab features of medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles have progressed in parallel to those employed in automobile and light-duty vehicles.
These have provided an opportunity to better incorporate the evolving features in advanced driver assistance systems into a human machine interface (HMI) that is both more “driver friendly” and provides for better awareness and cooperation with ADAS features for improved safety performance.
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Up until a few years ago, every heavy-duty truck on the market had a driver’s display that was some variant of a small, digital screen with some key information surrounded by analog gauges. One of the major recent changes has been the introduction of larger display screens that provide drivers with more information. Human-centered design considerations provide drivers in different vocations just what information is needed for that application. By moving away from analog gauges, manufacturers use digital displays to give drivers more information when they need it.
Early versions of ADAS presented limited information to the driver, mainly through a B-panel-mounted system with a basic set of icons showing that, for example, the truck was in cruise at 65 mph, and following distance to the vehicle ahead.
Today, these systems are integrated into the primary driver display, where ADAS alerts appear in the area adjacent to the speedometer. Examples include following distance alerts that tell drivers when the vehicle ahead is too close for the speed being traveled, typically in yellow or orange in the warning, which also triggers a similar color change in the following distance indicator to help draw the driver’s attention to this potential issue. For systems with lane departure alerts, the lane lines that are on either side will also change color if the vehicle begins departing the lane. These warnings convert to red when the conflict situation becomes critical.
Coupled with these visual signals, ADAS systems also provide audible warnings that decrease in their “beeping interval” to a steady tone. Haptic warnings also trigger with increasing conflict levels including steering wheel vibrations, driver’s seat vibrations, corrective “nudging” and service brake activations.
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American Trucking Associations’ develops and maintains various Recommended Practices for both specifications (Engineering RPs) and inspection/maintenance (Maintenance RPs) of ADAS systems and components. Regarding the in-cab HMI for ADAS, TMC RP 430B, Guidelines for Collision Warning Driver Interface and Notifications provides information on collision warning systems — their function, benefits and limitations — to help equipment owners with the purchasing process in determining the appropriate ADAS features for their operations.
TMC is in the process of evaluating potential revisions to RP 430B, as well as related RPs to consider the continuing developments in successive versions of ADAS systems. The current process is being conducted in support of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration under its TechCelerate Now Phase 2 initiative and its goal to accelerate the voluntary adoption of ADAS.
For more information, visit https://TechCelerateNow.org. Want to get involved in developing and/or updating these voluntary industry recommended practices? Email us at TechCelerateNow@trucking.org
