The Landcros Mini concept, on display at Samoter where it won a design award, aims to shift the development of mini excavators away from thinking about what can fit within the available space, to the operator’s use of the machine.
Hitachi’s designers made use of blind spots in the cab frame, finding space that had not previously been used. The cab offers a full 360° view and integrates a communications device with speaker and microphone. A slidable secondary display can accommodate third-party solutions, including Rototilt, or any other third-party partner, without taking space in the cab with additional monitors.
An innovative LED lighting system, linked to external sensors, detects people approaching the machine and alerts the operator by turning the interior lights red. The exterior LED lights alerts the people around the machine to see that the machine is in operation. Visibility has been improved further by relocating the windscreen wiper motor to the right side of the front window, clearing the sightline to the left, a small change that, Hitachi says, makes a real difference in tight working conditions.
Norihiko Kinugawa, product manager at Hitachi Construction Machinery Europe, said, “This concept model is based on the ZX55U-6, but what we’re really testing is a new design philosophy. We’ve given operators a unique opportunity to have a direct influence on the machines that will shape tomorrow’s job sites. We’re listening, and what they tell us here [at Samoter] in Verona will drive the decisions we make in the engineering room.”
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