Automation, electrification focus of ZF's Innovation Tractor prototype

The passenger-car industry may be driving development of advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and electrification, but the off-highway segment may be best-positioned to utilize them more widely-and sooner.

“The main movement for [driver-assistance systems] is in passenger cars, although it's much more difficult to get this on cars because of all the regulations,” said Dr. Manuel Götz, responsible for Advanced Engineering, Industrial Technology at ZF. “So I believe in the future, we'll be seeing autonomous vehicles in off-highway more regularly and even earlier than on the highway. Due to the fact that we're in an enclosed environment and don't have the regulations of on-highway, this could make things easier to implement.”