New tachograph from VDO: Enhanced efficiency for easier use

• Optimized counter for improved utilization of driving and rest periods
• Additional views simplify route break planning
• Data download approximately one third faster than in previous model
• Simplified user guidance with smartphone or in-vehicle user interface
• Clearly laid out, slender design

Villingen-Schwenningen, May 6, 2015. Continental has equipped its VDO DTCO 2.2 digital tachograph with numerous new functions for more efficient, convenient and secure use. These include new features for the better utilization of driving and rest periods as well as faster data downloads. What is more, the performance and stability of the system have been enhanced once again compared to the DTCO 2.1 model. As a result, haulage companies and fleet managers can benefit from an instrument that enables them not only to comply with existing regulations but also to further boost the profitability of their fleets. The tachograph will be available throughout Europe from July and orders can be placed immediately.

One of the most important innovations for everyday work takes the form of the improved VDO counter which is available ex works and constitutes an intelligent on-board computer which keeps the driver continuously informed about remaining driving and rest periods. With its improved algorithms and plausibility check capability, it displays the remaining driving and break times even more accurately and, for the first time, takes full account of the special characteristics of periods spent on ferries and trains. In addition, extended displays inform the driver of how much time is left behind the wheel before the next weekly break. This makes it possible to plan the remaining driving time until the weekend in advance. As a result, drivers can make the best possible use of their work time and haulage companies can optimize their fleet utilization.

Manual data downloads continue to be a time-consuming business and an area in which the DTCO 2.2 offers significant improvements. Thanks to an optimized data signing procedure and improved program flow, data can be downloaded up to a third faster and the time taken to comply with statutory archiving requirements can be cut.

State-of-the-art time management for drivers – through optimized ergonomics

Truck manufacturers and drivers benefit from the new model’s enhanced integration in the vehicle architecture. Even more of the tachograph’s functions can now be operated via the user interfaces present in the vehicle, such as the touchscreen or the steering wheel-mounted remote control. Smartphone users can enjoy the same functions via the VDO TIS-Web Driver app and VDO DTCO SmartLink. The greatly accelerated manual data entry functions represent another key advantage. Thus, for example, all rest periods can be preconfigured at the smartphone using the new, intelligent data entry menu in the TIS-Web Driver app and then transferred to the DTCO 2.2 in the vehicle at the touch of a button. The complex operation of recording times using the four-way button at the tachograph is now a thing of the past. What is more, entry of the country of origin and destination and hardcopy print-outs are now quick and easy.

The engineers have also given the tachograph a facelift to go with its new efficiency-oriented internal algorithms and functions – with a more slender design, the DTCO 2.2 has a fresher, more modern look that blends beautifully with the predominantly clear, curved design of modern vehicle interiors. With its flatter front face plate, the tachograph can be integrated seamlessly in the truck interior.

“Alongside data security, which is always a prime concern with tachographs, we have paid special attention to efficiency in the design of all the functions. The new version has been constructed to make the daily tasks of haulage companies and drivers as simple as possible and help them do what they need to quickly and efficiently,” explains Dr. Lutz Scholten, Head of Segment Tachographs, Telematics and Services at Continental.

In addition to the GPS position, using the DTCO GeoLoc, the version of the device intended for the aftermarket and retrofits can record data like fuel consumption, the vehicle’s total weight or diagnostic data and supply this to VDO’s TIS-Web fleet management software. As a result, TIS-Web customers can further boost the efficiency of their fleets and improve capacity utilization, for example by reducing fuel consumption or by optimizing route planning and vehicle loads.