Highly customized HMI for award-winning drive-by-wire system
It is not very effective for every manufacturer of mobile machines to work on an individual solution for the automation and autonomous operation requirements of their vehicles. Arnold NextG has therefore developed a platform-independent drive-by-wire system. The interface to the machine operator is a highly customized HMI from Graf Syteco. What were the reasons for the collaboration between these two agile companies from southern Germany?
The shortage of skilled workers is one of the biggest challenges facing the agricultural and construction industries. One way to address this is to integrate new technologies that simplify or automate the control of complex machines. To date, the efforts of leading machine manufacturers have focused primarily on the development of autonomous small machines such as farm robots, vibratory plates, or rollers. In addition, these are often silo developments: each company is looking for its own way to overcome this challenge. Technologies that enable the holistic automation of off-highway equipment regardless of machine class have been virtually non-existent until now.
Flexibly adaptable drive-by-wire platform
Arnold NextG, based in Pfronstetten-Aichelau in the district of Reutlingen, is taking precisely this approach. Its fully digital high-performance platform NX NextMotion combines drive-by-wire, steer-by-wire, and brake-by-wire in a single system, taking safety, autonomy, and performance to a new level. As a platform-independent solution, it can be used in any industry—in agricultural technology, the construction industry, logistics, defense and special vehicles, but also in mobility for people with disabilities. Thanks to its modular approach, NX NextMotion can be flexibly adapted to the requirements of the respective application. Company founder and CEO Kevin Arnold explains: "Our goal is to make mobility safer and smarter – by replacing traditional mechanics with highly available electronics. This creates the basis for true autonomous mobility, flexibly controllable machines, and new vehicle concepts – all from a single source. We handle the control hardware and software development entirely in-house."
Arnold NextG has developed NX NextMotion, the basis for fully autonomous processes for off-highway equipment. The drive-by-wire system automates the entire driving process for mobile machines, regardless of the machine class. Even large machines such as tractors can be moved automatically with NX Next Motion, even on the road. The technology platform is street legal and, thanks to quadruple redundancy, has the highest safety certifications such as ASIL D and SIL 3.
NX Next Motion Drive-by-Wire System
Quality without compromise
The NX NextMotion central control system enables fail-safe and customized implementation. The system can be used to implement autonomous vehicle concepts such as remote, teleoperation, or platooning solutions—but classic operation with a machine operator is still possible.
For the latter, the system requires a digital human-machine interface that displays all relevant information at the right time and allows central functions to be controlled in a single device. Kevin Arnold explains the challenges involved in finding a suitable partner: "We stand for uncompromising quality. We also pursue this approach when choosing our partners. When searching for our HMI supplier, we therefore only considered premium providers whose products we were completely convinced of. It quickly became clear that Graf Syteco's products met our requirements."
In this application, mapping is running on the HMI at the top right of the image.
Graf Syteco has been developing and manufacturing human-machine interfaces for the most demanding applications at its Tuningen site in the Black Forest for more than 40 years. The products stand for maximum robustness, powerful integrated control functions, user-friendly software integration, and perfect readability under all environmental conditions.
After the initial discussions, the project quickly moved into the implementation phase, as Kevin Arnold recalls: "It is generally our aim to be quick and make decisions. From the first contact to the signed order in less than two months, it all worked out perfectly. The Graf Syteco team impressed us with the high quality of their products and advice, their agility, and their flexibility. We ourselves stand for maximum dynamism, so we were immediately on the same wavelength in terms of company spirit. The 'made in Germany' factor was also very important. Based on a shared understanding of quality and reliability—and not least in terms of legal understanding—we can work together smoothly and profitably."
Highly customized product development
The modifications to the underlying 7-inch HMI from Graf Syteco's GSt-A-07C series went far beyond the standard. The HMI produced for Arnold NextG no longer has any external similarities with Graf Syteco's standard product. A custom housing design with very slim bezels and an additional recess for information LEDs was developed. The rear housing recess for the electronic components was also significantly modified to make room for optional components, such as additional interfaces and expandable RAM memory. A buzzer was also integrated to warn the machine operator acoustically of potentially dangerous operating conditions. The standard i.MX6 processor was replaced by a powerful i.MX8 QuadXPlus processor. With these comprehensive hardware modifications, the HMI is ideally equipped for visualizing operating conditions, controlling all relevant subsystems, and integrating additional camera systems.
The GSt-A-07C HMI, which serves as the hardware basis, offers a standard screen resolution of 1024x600 px and a display brightness of 1000 nits. The Ethernet interface of the 7-inch HMI is crucial for integration into the fully digital drive-by-wire system. "Our system requires powerful hardware and a contemporary look that matches the look and feel of the NX NextMotion. Graf Syteco implemented our requirements quickly and precisely, enabling us to make rapid progress with the further development of the overall system. This reduced our development time and conserved the necessary internal resources," emphasizes Kevin Arnold.
But it's not just the hardware that has to impress in an HMI. Graf Syteco's own Linux-based operating system, GSe-OS, offers all the software features required for application development right out of the box. The GSe software suite enables the programming of visualizations, icons, buttons, etc. using graphical tools such as GSe-VISU. Time-consuming text-based coding is not necessary.If more complex software modules need to be integrated at a later date, this can be done using the optional Qt integration via the Software Development Kit. Arnold NextG benefited from the open approach of Graf Syteco hardware and used Flutter for application development. The widgets and designs created with this tool can also be used on Graf Syteco HMIs via SDK.
This enabled Graf Syteco to deliver the ideal all-round package for Arnold NextG's revolutionary NX NextMotion system: highly customizable, robust, with smart hardware and software, and of impeccable quality.