Hyster pedestrian awareness camera wins product of the year competition

Hyster announces its pedestrian awareness camera solution is the winner of the Reader’s Choice Product of the Year award, as determined by readers of Material Handling Product News and MaterialHandling247.com. The solution took home top honors in the automatic data capture category for its ability to accurately identify pedestrians up to 16 feet away through a 110-degree field of view and automatically alert operators to their presence.

“From ports to steel mills, our commitment is to provide our customers with technology they can count on even in the world’s harshest applications,” said Clay Hendricks, Product Manager for Operator Assist Technology, Hyster. “The pedestrian awareness camera shows the value of that approach, allowing more operations to take advantage of operator assist solutions that help enhance safety initiatives.”

The pedestrian awareness detection system was developed using extensive amounts of photographic data collected from worksites. The camera, which is mounted to the rear, forks-trailing side of a lift truck, adapts to various lighting and environmental conditions, and can be used in both indoor and outdoor materials handling applications.

Multiple configurations allow operations to choose from audible and visual alerts only, or add optional traction alerts. When optioned with audible and visual alerts, a voiceover alerts the operator upon detection and a light on the truck-mounted operator remote indicates the zone in which the pedestrian is present. Traction alerts go a step further by gradually slowing down the lift truck when a pedestrian is detected, an effect similar to the operator removing their foot from the accelerator – all while keeping the operator in total control of the lift truck.

The system is optimized for travel speeds of five miles per hour or less, giving operators time to identify alerts and react in a way that enables them to avoid contact. Once an identified pedestrian is no longer in view of the camera, alerts disengage.