ZF & Faurecia have developed an operating and display concept for fully automated vehicles (level 4 AVs) without a steering wheel and pedals. The Trendsetting Cockpit concept interactive display currently is a static demonstration unit.

The concept allows drivers—even when driving manually—to decide between the left and right front seat by using a to a control lever in the center console. The screen-based display and operating concept offers high flexibility and simplifies work while driving.

Faurecia, a ZF partner company, particularly developed the cockpit design and the interaction concept.

Steering, acceleration and braking are performed by actuators that function in the background and receive their orders from the vehicle’s centralized computer, ZF ProAI—the result of ZF’s partnership with Nvidia.

ZF introduced the ProAI in 2017. With its open architecture, ZF ProAI is scalable—the hardware components, connected sensor sets, evaluation software and functional modules can be adapted to the desired purpose and degree of automation.

If the driver decides to drive manually, he or she could do this using the integrated control lever in the Trendsetting Cockpit. This makes it possible to accelerate, brake and change direction with just one finger. This ZF & Faurecia control concept for fully automated light commercial vehicles also gives the driver the choice of whether to sit in the right or left front seat. This creates numerous benefits not only for a variety of delivery situations, but also enables taxi drivers, for example, to offer guests an easier option to get into the vehicle at any time.

Light commercial vehicle and van manufacturers could also benefit because it would no longer be necessary to produce both right or left-hand vehicle models for different markets, thus reducing complexity.

The secondary driving functions in the Trendsetting Cockpit display unit such as turn indicators, horn and windshield wipers can also be activated from either side of the vehicle via a centrally positioned touchscreen. The traditional operating and design elements are no longer there.

Instead, ZF & Faurecia have integrated two additional screens into the left and right of the dashboard. They are dependent on the selected driver seat configuration and can be used in almost any way, such as displaying important driving data or performing job tasks during the fully automated drive. In addition, there is no steering wheel that could block the view or access to the screens.