Safety cameras: Deutz Driver Extended Eyes

Combine makers are not alone in developing sophisticated safety cameras to improve safety, and at Agritechnica last November Deutz-Fahr showed the prototype of a tractor camera system designed to reduce the risk of visibility-induced accidents. Called Driver Extended Eyes (DEE), it comprises three cameras. Neatly integrated within the tip of the bonnet, the first improves the view of the front linkage, but its main function is to detect any human activity immediately in front of the tractor. The second and third cameras are located each side of the bonnet, and the 180º image from the trio of cameras is transferred to the iMonitor 2.0 in the cab. Drivers receive both visual and audible warnings if someone is too close to the tractor, and we understand Deutz is developing a system that automatically locks the transmission to prevent the tractor from moving. In the future it may be possible to include all sorts of new automatic safety features, including reduced speed and braking. The control unit can handle up to six cameras and Deutz confirms it is evaluating just such a system on a 9 Series tractor. And like the combine safety camera system we outlined yesterday, images from all six cameras can be combined and shown as a single ‘birds eye’ aerial image.  The company plans to market the system from the second half of this year. The 9 Series will be the first tractor to use the technology, which could later migrate to other Deutz-Fahr tractors. Another benefit of the DEE is at a road junction when the camera safety system provides the driver with improved visibility to the left and right. The company is looking to take this a stage further and is currently developing a system that sees three safety cameras added to front-mounted kit, such as a mower. Tomorrow’s story will be on just such a system, but then not from Deutz-Fahr.