Volvo Co-Pilot wins prestigious human-machine interface (HMI) award

The Volvo Co-Pilot system from Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) beat international innovations and wowed a panel of judges to win ‘most innovative HMI feature’ in the Car HMI Awards 2016 (which, despite the name, aren’t just for cars!). Volvo CE was up against stiff competition, beating the likes of Volkswagen AG to win the top prize. The in-house developed Volvo Co-Pilot is designed for use on machines as diverse as excavators to pavers. It uses a tablet computer to deliver a new generation of intelligent machine services, such as Load Assist, Dig Assist, Compact Assist and Pave Assist. Volvo Co-Pilot and the assist-functionalities help operators to produce higher quality outcomes, in less time and with less effort.

Award-winning design

Presented by we.CONNECT, the awards were part of Europe’s leading HMI and UX event which brought together more than 200 experts in HMI, usability and user experience.

“It is a tremendous honor for Volvo CE to win this prestigious innovation award,” says Sidney Levy, design director at Volvo CE. “Volvo Co-Pilot sets a new industry standard, puts the user at the heart of the system and is the first step towards an integrated, holistic solution for worksite optimization. With its intelligent assist-functionalities, the system allows our customers to work more efficiently and safer than ever before. This award is a tribute to the hard work and dedication of Volvo CE’s skilled employees who continue to push the boundaries of technology and design.”

A new generation of intelligent machine offerings

Volvo Co-Pilot was unveiled in April at bauma 2016 – the largest construction equipment exhibition in the world. Volvo CE developed the platform in collaboration with CPAC System AB – a company wholly owned by the Volvo Group which develops and integrates safety-critical electronic control systems.

Available as either 2D or In-Field Design, Dig Assist allows excavator operators to complete digging tasks to a greater accuracy in less time. Safety is also improved, as there is no need to repeatedly get out of the cab and physically check grades or levels.

Load Assist is designed for Volvo wheel loaders L110-L250 and delivers real time accurate load information to the operator. Preventing under-or-overloading (and additional machine wear and even potential fines), the system allows wheel loaders to work to their maximum efficiencies. Fully automatic, the system logs all load information and the data is then displayed on the operator’s in-cab Volvo Co-Pilot display. The information can also be accessed remotely, thanks to Volvo’s advanced CareTrack telematics system. This allows complete payload management – giving access to data such as total transported load in tonnes; tonnes transported per liter of fuel and number of cycles.

Compact Assist offers two module options at launch – Intelligent Compaction and Intelligent Compaction with Density Direct. Intelligent Compaction records and displays a pass counter and thermal mapping, while Density Direct cleverly calculates 100% of the surface density.

Pave Assist is a family of paver-related modules and applications that will automate many of the paving parameters that today have to be recorded manually in order to meet stringent road authority reporting requirements. Providing a powerful set of tools to improve productivity, quality and site safety, Pave Assist combines Thermal Mapping, Weather View, Material Manager and (as a complementary option) Volvo Smartview modules.

An exceptional project

The prestigious Car HMI Award recognizes exceptional projects in three categories: most innovative HMI feature, best collaboration partner for developing HMI technology and most user-friendly HMI feature. The winners were announced on June 20th in Berlin, Germany. To further mark the occasion, we.CONNECT donated €1,000 to charity on behalf of the winners.

Picture caption1: Sidney Levy, design director at Volvo CE, receiving the award for most innovative HMI feature.

Picture caption2: Volvo Construction Equipment’s Dig Assist in action.