IN Mercedes-Benz entered the incab computer communication market some years
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ago, and its consultancy operation has been going for 17 years. The Mercedes in-cab system is a 'black box' mounted between the seats with a display screen built into the truck's fascia.
The key to the system is a tape cassette containing all the driver's load delivery information — traditionally detailed in written form on a delivery note and/or customer order[invoice. It is given to the driver when he arrives at the depot for his spell of duty, and as soon as he steps into the cab he loads the cassette into the on-board computer. Details of his first delivery (address, consignment and identification) appear on the dashboard display, enabling him to proceed on his way immediately.
Additional refinements will eventually include a route analysis and navi gation facility, with directions and journey segment distances appearing on the same display panel.
When the vehicle arrives at a drop the on-board computer prints out the necessary paperwork to be handed to the customer, which could take the form of an invoice for that consignment. As with the MAN system, a detachable hand-held terminal is part of the in-cab computer installation which can be unplugged by the driver and carried with him into the customer's warehouse or office.
Back in the cab, details of the next delivery are then selected by the driver for display. During the journey all delivery data, with timings of drops, are recorded on the cassette tape, which is removed from the onboard computer at the end of the trip and handed in to the depot traffic office where its contents are rapidly analysed.