Innovation truck truck a vision of what’s to come

A truck with digital mirrors that project images from all around the vehicle directly onto its dashboard will be shown as a concept at this year’s IAA Commercial Vehicle Show in Hannover next month.

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Developed by instrument cluster specialists, Stoneridge Electronics, the Innovation Truck features a mirror-replacement system named MirrorEye. The technology uses the latest automotive camera systems to replace traditional mirrors with high definition digital cameras and interior displays, making drivers better aware of dangers around their vehicle, such as pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles that would traditionally be in their blind spots.

“We are very excited about showing customers MirrorEye at this year’s IAA. So far we have received very positive feedback from OEMs, Fleet Operators and Drivers alike”, said Kent Pålsson, head of Vision & Safety at Stoneridge. “Not only does it remove blind spots but tests have shown that it can give fleets substantial fuel savings by removing aerodynamic drag.”

The aerodynamic element would involve removing the conventional mirrors altogether, with the camera images being projected directly onto the truck dashboard onto panels either side of the central instrument cluster.

Stoneridge is one of Europe’s largest CV instrument cluster manufacturers, and the Innovation Truck will feature its new Fully Configurable Dashboard, the FCD4. This is a full display cluster with two rear view displays and an Android tablet working as a central information display, which is configurable with all types of telematics software, including tachograph analysis and live logistics management.

While the Innovation Truck itself is unlikely to see production, elements from it will be actively promoted to truck manufacturers as future safety innovations.