Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) has opened its first virtual reality center (VRC) at its Chennai plant. The virtual reality center will allow operators to perform virtually maintenance and accessibility controls using a digital model that is accessed through 3D glasses and navigation joysticks. The company claims that with this move, DICV has set a new benchmark in the Indian commercial vehicle industry, revolutionizing customer service operations and research and development (R&D).
This platform can transform both R&D processes and vehicle maintenance, as it will reduce the demand for prototype vehicles, custom manufacturing tools and service compartments. This will also help reduce the time and costs required for testing and developing commercial vehicles. The virtual reality center will provide an opportunity for remote collaboration. For example, Daimler Truck teams around the world will be able to access the same model simultaneously to exchange ideas and opinions. With travel restrictions and social distancing guidelines, this will provide huge benefits, the company adds.
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Among other recent developments, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles has also recently introduced ‘BSafe’ features for its BharatBenz bus fleet to help ensure safe public transport. The buses will have several functions, such as hands-free doors, disinfectants and temperature sensors that will help prevent the spread of the infection. To ensure minimal surface contact, the new bus will have a pneumatic door and a hands-free disinfectant. It will also feature a hands-free temperature sensor and a foot-operated bin. In the event that a passenger has a temperature above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, an alert will be sent to the driver and a buzzer will sound. The bus entrance is also equipped with disinfectant mats.
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CEO and head of Daimler Bus India at DICV Karl-Alexander Seidel that this innovation is the need of the hour to mitigate virus transmission. “These vehicles address people’s concerns about public transport by offering reassuring functions in accordance with Covid’s safety and hygiene protocols. By equipping our products with” BSafe “functions such as hands-free doors, disinfectants and sensors temperature, we intend to reactivate the demand for passenger buses in India, ”he said.