Capital Equipment News August 2020

COVER STORY

If Active Brake Assist 5 detects a risk of collision with a vehicle travelling ahead, a stationary obstacle or a moving pedestrian, the driver is alerted to the danger by a three-stage escalating warning system. “If the driver fails to take action, a visual warning and warning tone will first occur and partial braking will then be applied. If the driver still fails to react, within its limits the system can carry out maximum full stop braking and at a speed under 50 km/h activate the hazard warning light system, in order to signal following traffic,” says Gerber. Finally, on coming to a stop the vehicle applies the new electronic parking brake. Active Brake Assist 5 can detect hazardous situations in many cases better than the driver detects and thereby react at an earlier stage. Like its predecessor, the purpose of Active Brake Assist 5 is to support the driver in minimising the danger of a collision and reducing or wholly preventing the consequences of an accident. New Arocs Benefitting directly from the innovations available in the new Actros is the new Arocs range. Initially introduced in 2019, Arocs has set the benchmark in reliability, efficiency and safety within the distribution segment, while raising the bar in relation to reliability, robustness and bodybuilder friendliness within the construction segment. “We are therefore thrilled to announce that six new models have been added to the existing range, comprising three freight carriers (the Arocs 3336/48, the Arocs 3340/48 and the Arocs 3352/45), an 8x4 tipper (the Arocs 4145K/51) and two all-wheel drives off road vehicles (the Arocs 1845AE/45 and the Arocs 3345AE/45),” explains Gerber. The Arocs benefits from a range of innovations such as electronic parking brake, multifunctional steering wheel and keyless start, among others. The electronic parking brake activates automatically when switching off the engine, but can also be switched on and off manually, using the lever in the cockpit. The integrated HOLD function activates when the vehicle is at a standstill simply by pressing the brake pedal more firmly, for example, at a red traffic light or on an uphill gradient. “With the addition of the new Actros and additional Arocs models, I am pleased to say we now boast a complete product line-up within the heavy duty truck segment, that is not only unmatched in its design, but offers value for money to our customers,” concludes Gerber. b

Mercedes-Benz Uptime increases vehicle availability through remote diagnosis and smart planning of workshop visits.

example. Centimetre-precise manoeuvring thus becomes even easier. The MirrorCam features a special manoeuvring view for reversing: the upper part of the display shows the area approximate to the vehicle and the lower part – with a certain overlap – the distant areas. Multimedia Cockpit Dubbed the revolution in human machine interfaces (HMI), immediately eye- catching inside the cab of the new Actros is the new Multimedia Cockpit. The core of the newly developed interface between driver and vehicle are two central colour displays. The primary colour display with its high-resolution flat screen technology replaces the traditional instrument cluster with its speedometer, revolution counter and fuel gauge. The neatly arranged and clear display informs the driver about all essential driving and operating states, as well as the actions performed by Active Brake Assist 5, Predictive Powertrain Control and other driver assistance systems. In addition, the display can be personalised. “The secondary display features touchscreen technology. It enables drivers to conveniently control the majority of the functions within the truck. Important functions like the lights, heating, aircon and telephone can be directly selected with shortcut buttons. The driver can also display the vehicle condition, such as axle load, at any time,” explains Gerber. Numerous connection options for mobile end devices increases the convenience of work and operation in the Multimedia Cockpit. Up to six driver profiles can be saved in the Multimedia Cockpit by means of the usual driver cards for Fleetboard. The primary colour display and the secondary multi-touch display can be operated via the new multifunction steering wheel with touch control buttons, also known as finger navigation-pads. Swiping or pressing the touch control

buttons operates the vehicle systems and retrieves information.

Mercedes-Benz Uptime Uptime is a parameter of sheer significance to any fleet owner.

Mercedes-Benz Uptime increases vehicle availability through remote diagnosis and

smart planning of workshop visits. “With the aim of greater vehicle

availability, Mercedes-Benz Uptime offers an innovative service product for customers of Mercedes-Benz Trucks through intelligent vehicle networking in real time and through intensive customer care. The fully automatic tele-diagnosis system continuously checks the status of the vehicle systems in the truck,” says Gerber. It takes just seconds to interpret the data, identify critical conditions and provide concrete recommendations for action. Should there be a need for maintenance or repairs, Mercedes-Benz Service will immediately assist the customer with an individualised solution, optimally geared to the particular trip planning and vehicle condition. For customers this affords significantly facilitated scheduling of workshop visits and vehicle availability, so that fleet operators can operate their trucks even more efficiently. Active Brake Assist 5 Said to be unique to Mercedes-Benz Trucks, the new Active Brake Assist 5 with further-improved pedestrian detection affords greater safety for pedestrians. New in the current version of the emergency braking assistance system is the interaction between radar and camera systems. Among other things, the system’s response to moving pedestrians in a speed range below 50 km/h has been improved. Within the system limits, Active Brake Assist 5 is now capable of carrying out emergency braking when encountering pedestrians crossing its path, approaching from the front or walking across.

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CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS AUGUST 2020