Greater safety and efficiency with retrofittable camera systems by Liebherr

Whether in winter maintenance, waste management or street cleaning – a reliable all-round view is crucial, whenever large machines operate in confined spaces. This is precisely where Liebherr’s LiXplore® camera systems come into play: They help operators to always keep their surroundings in view and make work processes not only safer, but also more efficient.

For over ten years, Liebherr has been developing and manufacturing digital camera systems for mobile machinery and commercial vehicles at its site in Lindau (Germany). The solutions are specifically designed for demanding operating conditions – from poor lighting to low temperatures. The latest MDC4 camera generation, for instance, features active lens heating to ensure a clear view even under frosty conditions and enables the machine to start up quickly without long warm-up times. In daily use, the consistently high image quality is particularly impressive: Even in darkness or rapidly changing light conditions, the cameras deliver stable Full HD images. This makes it easier to navigate the working environment, supports precise maneuverings and helps to identify risks early on in order to prevent accidents.

“Machine operators in municipal applications bear a particular responsibility – for their own safety, as well as for their surroundings. Our aim is to support them with solutions that prove to make everyday work safer and function reliably under any operating conditions. With the MDC4 digital camera, we ensure that drivers have a clear surround view right from the start, even under changing light conditions or in frost,” explains Alexander Bertsch, head of the sensor technology product line at Liebherr-Electronics and Drives GmbH in Lindau.

The LiXplore^® portfolio comprises various system solutions for different requirements: The 360° variant, LiXplore ^® Bird’s Eye, combines multiple camera images to provide a complete surround view from a bird’s-eye perspective. This allows driving routes and work areas to be comprehensively monitored, whilst enabling obstacles and people to be detected at an early stage. For applications focusing on individual areas, the LiXplore^® CMS (camera-monitor systems) offer targeted and needs-based monitoring. The camera systems are complemented by LiXplore® Detect, an AI-based assistance function for person detection. The system monitors defined hazard zones in real time and visually alerts the machine operator, as soon as people are in the critical area. This allows potential hazards to be detected early, and accidents to be actively prevented.

The LiXplore^® camera systems can be integrated into both new machine designs and existing vehicle fleets. For Liebherr machines, this option is available from Generation 4 models onwards. Furthermore, machines of other manufacturers can also be easily retrofitted. This provides operators with a flexible way to bring safety functions in both new and existing machines up to a uniform standard.