EDITORIAL: Competencies shift as technology changes

Fuel cells. Electrification. Electrohydraulics. UI/UX design. Autonomy. All these topics are covered in this issue of Truck & Off-Highway Engineering. And all are dynamic areas ripe with challenges and opportunities in research, development and deployment in commercial vehicles and off-highway machines. Experts agree that new skillsets and a shift away from “how things have always been done” are necessary to realize the full potential of these technologies.

Chris Brockbank, VP of technology and strategy at Ricardo North America, noted a culture shift is needed in engineering design. “We were trained in engineering to be ingrained in traditional thinking - ‘I need this design to last 20 years; it must not break; the world can end and this will still be there,’” he told SAE COMVEC attendees.