Not Quite Your Father’s Cab

As commercial and off-highway vehicles inch closer to becoming software-defined vehicles, the UX within a cab takes on added significance.

February 10, 2025

Ryan Gehm

Engineers updated the complete electronics architecture of this 2025MY New Holland forage harvester to create a more responsive, informative cab. (New Holland)

When New Holland developed its model year 2025 FR Forage Cruiser self-propelled forage harvester, the operator environment was top of mind, evidenced by the “more informative cab” leading the list of multiple upgrades for the model.

Ryan Gehm, Editor-in-Chief, Truck & Off-Highway Engineering magazine. (SAE International)

The cab interior features refined controls and electronics, including a larger (12-in vs. previous 10.4-in) IntelliView IV PLUS touchscreen display with enhanced graphics. More processing power results in a faster bootup time and improved reactivity. Engineers updated the complete electronics architecture throughout the machines to accommodate the improved responsiveness.

Of course, improving the in-cab experience in a new model-year vehicle is nothing new or extraordinary. But as commercial and off-highway vehicles inch closer to becoming software-defined vehicles (SDVs), the user experience (UX) within a cab takes on added significance. User interfaces (UI) are a crucial component of this, obviously, and can also help an OEM strengthen its brand identity.

That’s exactly what HERE Technologies set out to achieve with its CES 2025 product reveal – a variant of its HERE Navigation that’s customized to meet the demands of SDVs. The cloud-based, “AI-powered” platform reportedly offers a completely configurable UX and map design, supports larger and more immersive screens, and “seamlessly integrates” infotainment and ADAS functionalities. Its first application is on the automotive side, for Sony Honda Mobility’s Afeela brand, but such technology inevitably will find its way inside work vehicles.

And when it does, vehicle designers will have to integrate it thoughtfully. Human-machine interface (HMI) is important to consider particularly as over-the-air updates become increasingly common. An industry expert recently lamented, “Every time I get a software update [in my passenger EV], I have to look around the HMI to see where all the stuff went. We have to be really careful that we don’t do everything we possibly could just because we can. Especially for commercial vehicles, these by and large are tools used to do a job and to make money.”

Cat Advanced Control Joysticks were brought to market specifically for the M Series 3 motor graders. The 14M3 shown here was on display at ConExpo in 2017. (Caterpillar)

Replicating a smartphone’s interfaces for touchscreens used inside vehicles may be enticing, but it may not be the best approach. Dr. Moritz Neukirchner, senior director of strategic product management for SDVs at Elektrobit, noted, “Smartphone interfaces are designed to maximize user attention, and as long as we’re not autonomously driving, that’s the wrong way. Whatever interface we introduce it must be context aware, so it must understand what the surroundings of the vehicle are, what the operation mode of the vehicle is, and it must be intent driven.”

Transformation inside cabs is afoot, but I’m reminded of one of my first assignments in the off-highway sector – attending the launch of Caterpillar’s first motor grader that replaced the steering wheel and levers with two electrohydraulic joysticks to control the machine. This “UI shakeup,” which occurred in 2006 with the M Series motor graders, was said to reduce the operator’s hand and wrist movements by more than 80%. I recall the impetus was an aging workforce and operator shortages (challenges still) – and thus an appeal to a younger generation who grew up playing video games and was accustomed to joystick-and-button controls.

Nearly 20 years later, Caterpillar still offers “lever models” for its motor graders. It’s a reminder that while in-cab innovations continue to progress, and step changes do occur, a complete shift away from your father’s cab is not imminent.