Forklift Digital Cluster

Overview

In recent years, vehicles and technologies in them have evolved drastically to increase convenience for users and operators. One of the key upgrades in automobiles is the inclusion of electronic instrument clusters. The traditional analog ones used in vehicles show estimated readings and were more prone to displaying errored readings.
However, digital panels with a digital speedometer are featured in many new vehicles. Such panels show a variety of options regarding the vehicle’s particulars within its display in a digital form.
One of our clients needed digital clusters for their forklift trucks. They are an India-headquartered group of companies that have around 15 business lines. They are a highly trusted brand that has operated here for multiple decades. Currently, they handle industrial material needs and are one of India’s largest manufacturers of lift trucks.
They needed a solution that could enable automated safety and maintenance checks every day, and also when a forklift operates. Since India has mostly foreign brands specializing in digital panels for vehicles, our client aimed to take on the international competition in a growing market like ours.

Approach

With the help of our team of experts, we at Alpha ICT always emphasize delivering services to encompass all the diverse requirements of our clients. After listening to our client’s demands, we realized that we needed to replace existing traditional analog clusters with digital ones.

We felt the need to add sensors and automate its process, along with establishing remote connectivity. This solution needed to be designed with OEM and a digital cluster retrofit add-on, with versatile usage in mind.

We identified and located the sensors to be added to the forklift
Our team designed a module to read sensor data and send data over GPRS using the MQTT protocol
We designed a dashboard module with an attractive UI and an intuitive LED indicator that signaled the state of the forklift
We also made a rugged electronic digital cluster to work in stringent operating conditions

Results

We successfully helped the client accomplish the following things –

Maintain leadership in the market
Keep their product relevant
Giving them ownership of their electronics
Facilitated machine connectivity
Integrated third-party software
Enabled remote monitoring
Conducted fault prevention and analysis

Conclusion

Conducting comprehensive checks to ensure the product runs successfully
Employing effective strategies for integrated hardware, firmware, and software solutions
Using an automotive-grade power supply
Facilitating easy mechanisms and conveniently obtaining data for the forklifts