EAO adds functionally safe Premium variants to its popular Series 09 family of automotive keypads

EAO, a leading supplier of HMI components & systems to the automotive industry has extended its popular Series 09 family of keypads for vehicular applications with the addition of Premium versions that offer optimum levels of safety and reliability.

Premium versions of Series 09 rugged keypads were specially designed by EAO for safety-critical applications and were developed to exceed DIN EN ISO13849 standards. According to renowned test house DEKRA Testing and Certification GmbH, the new keypads achieve Performance Level D (PLd) for safety as set out in the Machinery Directive and the ISO 13849-1 standard.

The new Premium variants of the Series 09 Rugged Keypads feature the CANopen Safety protocol which was specially developed for safety-critical applications. CANopen Safety complies with international safety standards, in particular DIN EN ISO 13849 and uses various mechanisms for error detection and error correction. CANopen Safety offers the same communications advantages as the high-level Controller Area Network (CANbus) communication spec. such as scalability, flexibility and real-time capability.

Built-in communication redundancy boosts the reliability of the entire system.

Introducing the new Series 09 keypads to the UK market Robert Davies, Marketing Manager with EAO Ltd. said that safety and reliability are of the utmost importance wherever vehicle bodies or attachments need to be moved and/or automatically controlled: “Integrating the new Series 09 rugged keypad into the system increases its stability and has a direct positive effect on the vehicle’s operating costs”, Davies said.  “The new functionally safe Series 09 keypads also aid the vehicle manufacturer by reducing development and certification time and costs and so speeds time to market”.

In addition to maximising safety and reliability, the new Premium versions of Series 09 keypads significantly reduced maintenance downtime thanks to an innovative architecture that helps prevent errors and increases efficiency, ensuring smooth operation in use and minimising risks for both operators and manufacturers.