Display Application For Truck Cargo Space Heater

TK Engineering designed a display application for truck cargo space heater for SSC Climate Group Ab. The application gives the driver a way to control the heaters temperature set value, monitor the current temperatures and the possible error states of the system from the cabin. That way the driver can ensure a precise temperature for the cargo during the entire transportation.

User experience based development

Design of the user interface (UI) was also included in the project. Understanding the use of the system by all kinds of users – truck drivers, developers, assembly and service technicians were essential in the initial stages of the development. Therefore, a smooth and intuitive user experience was one of the main objectives during the entire design  process. To achieve that, a clean and simple UI was necessary to not confuse the end users. The display application presents the expertise of TK Engineering in the field of user interfaces.

“Many thanks for a successful and professionally executed project. Despite very tight time frames, the project has progressed well. The software performed effectively and the reporting and documentation were presented in a clear and professional manner.”

Kaj Östman, SSC Climate Group Ab

Efficient Diagnostics

Diagnostics is also an important part of the process enabling more efficient testing, commissioning and field service. This is often overlooked at the beginning of the projects. However, the fact that majority of the possible errors will be immediately visible on the display, makes developing significantly faster. This project also proved how well-thought workflow improves the overall efficiency.

Modular software development

The application development was done with IEC 61131-3 standard programming language and the selected display supports CODESYS 3.5, which is IEC 611131-3 compliant. When aiming for modularity, TK Engineering has the knowhow to design and develop such systems. That means a platform independent application software that can be ported efficiently to the vast majority of platforms with minimal effort required. This will lead to better re-usability of the application software and reduce the required time and resources in development and maintenance of the project.

Possibilities for the future

Platform independence also allows many possibilities for the future. One interesting concept is to generate standardized IEC 61131-3 code from ProCANopen based CANopen system design frameworks to CODESYS application. The concept has already been tested and the results indicate major savings in development time. This will speed up the development process of new projects and reduce errors as less manual work is needed. For already finished projects, this would provide a modular platform for future implementations.