“Scania trucks can now be closely integrated with everything from the fleet management system to the actual driving environment and an array of cloud-based services for improved safety, uptime and productivity,” says Stefan Dorski, Senior Vice President and Head of Scania Trucks.
When using the Scania Smart Dash, the driver chooses which information to display or omit and the whole set-up is made to be intuitive and user-friendly with a smart mix of physical and digital controls.
The Smart Dash driver station always includes two displays: the Driver Display in front of the driver and the Centre Information Display (a touch screen that is available in two sizes – 10’1 or 12’9 inches).
The driver input via the touch screen, by pushing buttons or by voice steering. Scania has settled for a mix of physical and digital controls, steering away from the common mistake of hiding vital functions one or two levels down in a menu.
“The most well-used functions should of course be readily available,” says Eduardo Landeo, Product Manager, Scania Trucks. “It is all about offering the drivers the best possible experience and making sure that new technology always supports the drivers rather than annoying them or bringing cognitive overload. Or even, in the worst-case scenarios, create situations where their focus wanders from the road and direct vision to adjust basic things such as the interior temperature.”
Scania’s latest truck generation offers many safety functions as standard when sold on European markets. Other functions are optional and go beyond the legal minimum standards. One example is the Advanced Emergency Braking for Vulnerable Road Users (AEB VRU); instead of just warning that there is a pedestrian in front of the truck, the vehicle also does the actual braking when necessary.
“No matter how experienced or careful a driver is, with all the time they spend on the roads there will always come a day when he or she is eternally grateful for the alert from one of the warning systems,” says Landeo.