Engine-maker FPT Industrial’s Cursor X modular, multi-power multi-application power source concept has been awarded the prestigious 2020 Good Design Award.
The CNH Industrial Group’s engine arm said the Cursor X “represents a symbol of how FPT Industrial conceives innovation: an engine concept ‘designed for Planet Earth’”. Jointly developed by FPT together with the CNH Industrial Design Centre, Cursor X is strongly identified by its main features that shape the architecture, logic and operational mode of the power unit of the future, said the manufacturer.
David Wilkie, head of the CNH Industrial Design Centre, said: “We take enormous pride in receiving the 2020 Good Design Award. Designing a concept engine is really something special. It is completely reimagining the engine as we know it. The award is a testament to the conceptual work done and to our commitment to realising innovative ideas to illuminate our future. With Cursor X we can tune the powertrain solution to achieve a unique set-up for each mission, each vehicle, each machine. Thanks to its modular approach, the Cursor X is ready to become the protagonist in every mission, inspiring the next era.”
Egle Panzella, manager, Brand Equity, Sustainability and Heritage at FPT Industrial, added: “We are all more than happy that the 2020 Good Design Award jury recognised our unique engine concept ‘designed for Planet Earth’. In the future we can imagine engines to be part of the external body of the vehicle and it should be beautiful, not only performing. Cursor X is a new powertrain unit, capable of using any available and above all sustainable energy source. Cursor X can run on full battery electric. It can also be a natural gas, plug-in hybrid powertrain and with the hydrogen fuel cell you have 800km autonomy for long haul heavy-duty missions.”
According to FPT, the Cursor X has four salient features. These are Multi-power or capable of using many energy sources; Modular, with one engine for various customisable performance options; Multi-application for a mix of uses; and Mindful or fitting a new era of requirements.
The Cursor X concept can adapt to provide the most suitable solution for the customer’s business and mission, whether based on natural gas internal combustion, hydrogen fuel cell electric generation, or on battery-stored energy, making it multi-power.
FPT added that when it comes to being modular the engine has an architecture that allows easy assembly, vehicle integration, servicing and full scalability.
Thanks to its wide range of options, the Cursor X is designed to supply energy for traction, auxiliary systems, implements and PTOs to any kind of industrial vehicle or machine – from delivery vans to buses and small dozers and crawler excavators to specialty tractors and combines, making it a multi-application unit.
The power source concept has been designed to have self-learning capability and to provide a significant amount of information for further hardware and software design developments. It can be equipped with processors and sensors that recognize anomalies, analyse wear and tear and predict maintenance needs, making it what the company calls a “Mindful” engine.
The Good Design awards is among the oldest and the most recognised programmes for design excellence worldwide. It was founded in Chicago in 1950 by Eero Saarinen and Charles and Ray Eames, and is currently managed by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
