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Even in today's highly-connected world, humans still play a vital role in work environments, and most present-day heavy-duty mobile equipment operate in proximity to humans. Functional Safety was born to ensure equipment systems can detect, diagnose, and safely mitigate incidents to prevent harm to humans and machines. By proving, testing, and documenting the system design process, functional safety is now a critical element to any/all systems installed within heavy-duty mobile equipment, factory options, and aftermarket machines.

Human-Machine Interfaces (HMI) is used extensively in the cabs of heavy-duty OEM equipment both on and off-road, and allows a person to interact with a machine, like an instrument panel, the joystick, the steering wheel, the brakes, the knobs and buttons of the infotainment system, Etc.

The move toward full autonomy will see safety systems that combine their data for more accuracy.

As demands for machine safety and autonomous mobile equipment have increased, perception systems have become more critical than ever to accurately recognize the position and velocity of surrounding vehicles, Vulnerable Road Users (VRU), and other hazards and obstructions.

As of July 1, 2020, PRECO Electronics has been acquired by Sensata Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: ST), announced in a recent Press Release. Sensata Ventures is the investment division of Sensata Technologies, a rapidly growing provider of sensor-rich solutions with operations and business centers in 11 countries worldwide.

As customers continue to demand driver awareness, assistance, and autonomous features to improve safety — regulatory and societal pressure trends point to the expansion of OEMs offering these solutions as optional and standard features. Today, this expansion points in the direction of Radar sensors as one of the key solution elements.

Advancements in the Adoption of Proximity Detection Systems

PRECO Electronics® has seen advancements in a few ways. The adoption of proximity detection systems has been one of the most prominent trends to date. Proximity detection is a solution born of the intention of bolstering the safe operation of machines – designed to improve operator awareness through identifying objects and/or people in dangerous blind spots.

We work tirelessly to find ways to make operation and adoption easier for our customers and aim to bolster a seamless transition for customers and the industries we serve. We want to help you prepare for the future, and to be ready once we do make it through these uncertain times.

In preparation for tomorrow, it's important to understand adoption processes and to gain insight on the development, testing, integration, field application, and mounting of proximity detection systems – while trying to not get too into the weeds.

The advancement of safety features in Highway Vehicles has changed the way we travel, and profoundly increased the safety of vehicle operators, passengers, and pedestrians. As the automotive manufacturers have dedicated their focus on safety, and crash survivability, countless lives have impacted. From the advent of the safety-belt, Supplemental Restraint Systems (airbags, pre-tensioners), to engineering crush zones within vehicle structures have significantly increased motor-vehicle survivability. However, the highest risk component, the human operator, is still in control of most vehicle operating functions. This human component is referred to as “Human Factors.”

In recognition of innovation, dedication and best practices, we are now accepting nominations for the ninth annual Excellence in Safety Award. Recognizing the outstanding achievements of safety professionals each year, the Excellence in Safety Award honors those who educate, support, and take action to improve safety on and off the worksite.

Functional Safety

The goal of functional safety is to ensure that organizations provide dependable products to external customers.

As PRECO’s solutions have grown, our products have also begun the testing process with non-automotive applications. Increasingly collaborating with the automotive industry and developing products for fully autonomous automotive vehicle applications. A trend that further emphasizes the need for increased safety oversight described as Functional Safety[i].