“Technology so easy to use,” says David Wilkie, head of CNH’s Industrial Design Center, “that you feel like you’re driving a car. Integration is the secret of the most modern engines. FPT Industrialhas unveiled its new integrated control system for the boating industry called Red Horizon, developed in collaboration with ZF and Simrad, part of the Navico group. Engines, monitoring and control systems for quieter and safer steering.
FPT Red Horizon, from the dashboard you can control the whole boat
A single point from which you control the entire boat, in an integrated and safe way. “Red Horizon is so easy to use,” explains David Wilkie, head of CNH Industrial (a group to which FPT belongs) Design Center, “that our customers will feel like they are driving a car. The materials chosen represent the accuracy of the design: the lounge area, in fact, was designed as a space for relaxation, furnished with sofas and cushions. Red Horizon is the first step on our path to naval design.”
How it works: ZF and Navico for FPT engines
ZF provided the electronics and control systems for the manoeuvres. Thanks to an ergonomically shaped lever with touchpad, with the electronics “Premium Control” you can give any navigation command: in confined areas and during the docking you can control the speed of the engine to moor safely. The CAN bus system (Controller Area Network) with a multifunction control head allows you to manage up to six control stations of the boat. The additional “Premium joystick” simultaneously controls motors, transmissions and thrusters and allows you to steer the boat extremely effectively at low speed, facilitating manoeuvres in confined spaces and the correct orientation of the boat according to the wind and currents.
Navico supplied the 7-inch engine monitoring displays and the 16-inch Full HD Multifunctional Display (MFD). The latter offers great visibility and control from the helm station and provides a chart navigation system with integrated GPS receiver, sonar support and autopilot. It also offers wireless display replication (mirroring) on smartphones and tablets, giving you the ability to control engines and rudder from anywhere on the boat. Navico displays are equipped with a technology that ensures visibility in all lighting conditions with extremely wide viewing angle. The compact 7-inch displays (as well as those of the 9 and 12-inch families) are specifically dedicated to displaying a wide range of engine operating parameters, alarm alerts and other optional features, such as navigation, mapping, radar tracking, depth sounder, autopilot and more.
