ALL in ONE – warum es Kamerasysteme im LKW auch für TABLET-Monitore gibt

SATLOG academy

Sicherheit im Straßenverkehr ist besonders wichtig und hier engagiert sich auch die Tochter der MEKRA, die Fa. MEKRAtronics seit vielen Jahren. Der Slogan: Wir sehen uns sicher! Heute daher im Podcast Markus Dören Head of Sales bei MEKRAtronics, der sich seit über 7 Jahren mit Kamerasystemen befasst.

English transcript:

ALL in ONE - why camera systems in trucks are also available for TABLET monitors

JS= Jürgen Stausberg MD= Markus Dören

JS

If you research the topic of property damage and personal injury on the Internet - especially for recycling vehicles - it quickly becomes apparent that there are many individual systems to which the driver must pay attention: Vehicle monitor for navigation, monitor for side camera, alarm systems for turn assist, tablet with orders, smartphone, etc.

The problem is that while the driver can basically see almost all critical areas directly or through the mirrors, they often can't see them at the same time. The driver only has about two seconds to get his bearings. Two seconds to look through the windshield and side windows and into the up to six mirrors! Then, at a busy intersection, the situation has already changed again. If safety is to be improved here, it is therefore primarily a matter of showing the driver the accident-relevant areas at a glance.

The importance of this is also shown by the analyses of Hellwach mit 80 with the 10 rules

I will quote here only the particularly important rules 2-5

NO. 2

Only make urgent phone calls and only if a hands-free system is available. Every phone call is distracting.

NO. 3

Social media use via smartphone, notebook, tablet, etc., such as Facebook, WhatsApp, SMS or YouTube must be avoided.

NO. 4

Do not plan routes, change routes or process orders while driving.

NO. 5

Non-driving activities such as reading, making coffee, preparing meals, personal hygiene, etc. are incompatible with safe driving and must be refrained from.

So safety on the road is particularly important and this is where MEKRA's subsidiary, MEKRAtronics, has been involved for many years. We see ourselves safe! Is the slogan. Today in the podcast, Markus Dören, Head of Sales at MEKRAtronics, has been involved with camera systems for over 7 years.

Welcome Markus Dören

MD

Thanks for having me, great to be here, it's always good to talk to innovative and creative partners.

JS

SATLOG has been connecting camera systems to the telematics tablets for many years and chose MEKRAtronics because in a Franconian pragmatic way it was never a problem to create special solutions. We needed special adapter cables and MEKRAtronics created them, speeding up the integration. I remember very well when we got a call from Schwarzmüller on behalf of one of our customers asking us to send the adapter kits as soon as possible. We didn't know anything about MEKRAtronics at the time and were surprised how quickly the connection went.

Mr. Dören, who actually is MEKRAtronics, only the insiders know them.

MD

Mekratronics GmbH is a 100% subsidiary of MEKRA Lang, the leading supplier of mirror systems and camera monitor systems for commercial vehicles, especially trucks and buses in the OEM sector. A so-called hidden champion!

Safety is our topic!

With the growing importance of safety systems in commercial vehicles, MEKRAtronics has specialized in the development and sale of camera, monitor and radar systems. The driver is our focus, we enable a better view and thus we reduce the risks while driving and maneuvering.

Our cameras and radar-based turn assistants have been installed thousands of times in vehicles in Europe for years, also by large OEMs.

The adaptation to different displays is our daily business and therefore we could help in your case immediately.

JS

What makes MEKRA cameras so special that such large companies integrate them as OEMs?

MD

We call this "industrialization." The products are developed and produced according to strict specifications based on automotive standards. All the necessary tests and certificates are available. For example, our cameras have protection class IP69K, so they are also resistant to high-pressure cleaners. The delivery directly to our customers' assembly lines also places high demands on our logistics.

JS

But there are not only cameras for rear view and side view, but also turn assistants that start beeping when a cyclist approaches when turning. There are strict standards there. Can you tell us a little bit more about that? You've been in discussion with the Federal Motor Transport Authority on and off.

MD

Safety is, after all, our topic. Measures to protect cyclists and vulnerable road users have been in the spotlight in recent years.

We have had a radar-based turn-off assistant for years. The reliability and insensitivity of radar systems to light and weather conditions played a decisive role in the choice of the system. It works robustly in rain, fog, snow and dirt.

There is a lot of funding for systems that have been approved by the German Federal Motor Transport Authority. Regulations are implemented by us immediately, so we are in constant contact with the KBA with a MEKRA own department.

JS

Let's get to the real topic, which is that the camera image is also displayed on a tablet monitor, thus eliminating the need for the other monitors. Truck navigation and, in particular, order management with the digital signature run on the tablet. The driver navigates to the order with a click, which is imported to the tablet from the control center via a sim card. Now there are rear view cameras and side cameras and they should be displayed when the driver needs them and here MEKRAtronics has created an APP from many years of experience, which is firmly integrated on the SATLOG tablets via the firmware, which can do all this SmartTab+. Can you explain to us how this works?

MD

Displaying analog cameras on tablets is not as easy to realize as you think. The interfaces for existing CVBS cameras are not available. With the hardware solution of SATLOG we have a solution: Connection of up to four cameras and recording of the video stream.

Now the display has to be done in a way that the drivers get the important image information and are not distracted with too much information.

In plain language, if the driver is driving to the right, then the right side must also be displayed.

When reversing, the rear camera and in some cases the side camera.

We can set and save all that in our SmartTab+ app.

JS

Great app, especially interesting for recycling vehicles and the special thing the videos can yes even recorded and serve in case of damage to a much faster clarification and damage settlement.

MEKRAtronics has recently gone one step further and can also connect the new camera with the SmartTab+, which uses artificial intelligence to increase safety when maneuvering. How do you have to imagine that, every truck has a different maneuvering radius and danger zones, can you calibrate all that specifically? How does that work?

MD

Our ADA Cam detects people and actively warns when the person is within a defined zone. This is a milestone in increasing safety. Setting the three warning zones can be done browser based via any device with Wifi. The warning zones can be flexibly adapted to any application or vehicle.

Person detection takes place in the camera without any further control unit. This results in an extremely short response time and no additional resources on the tablet are loaded or delay the detection. The tablet can output the warning information as a signal and process this data.

JS

Fantastic, and it all works together with other cameras on a single tablet monitor.

Markus Dören, do you have a final anecdote for us? You've accompanied so many installations in fire engines, buses and semitrailer trucks. I'm sure there's a story there.

MD

Two years ago, we sold a camera system with radar turn-off assistant to a body manufacturer at the NUFAM trade show in Karlsruhe. The company's sales manager drove the truck train to the trade show himself.

At the fair he told us that the turn assistant and the side camera prevented a serious accident. He was warned early enough of several bicyclists approaching from the side in the blind spot. You can imagine how relieved the man was.

JS

Great, have many thanks, then always a good view - See you for sure.