HELLA GUTMANN – MEGA MACS X

With its mega macs X, the electronics company Hella Gutmann gives a new meaning to the term “vehicle diagnostics”. Flexible and easy-to-use, the device fits into workshops of any size and enables you to quickly interpret extracted data and error codes. Integrated lighting solutions facilitate communication with the vehicle as they bring about an intuitive understanding between user and device.

In addition to reading and deleting error codes, the diagnostic technology of the mega macs X offers other features like automated mileage read-out, access to the system parameters of the connected vehicle, active control of basic settings, coding and calibrating as well as checking connected systems such as engines, valves or displays. Even information about required maintenance services is transferred to the control electronics using the diagnostic solution from Hella Gutmann. Integrated lighting solutions facilitate the communication with the user.

Intuitive user experience 

The mega macs X diagnostic tool requires neither a keyboard nor a display for user communication. All information is communicated via various integrated LED lighting solutions. Information about the current device status and the ongoing processes of the mega macs X is provided at a glance and in an intuitive way while a separate device is used to operate the tool and display the diagnostic results.

Light as a means of communication

Various lighting solutions are integrated in the mega macs X diagnostic tool to ensure intuitive and visually controlled usability. Take for example the green LED bar (Swoosh) for which a TPE light guide is used. The bar appears on the front and back of the device to indicate that the vehicle diagnostic system is active and to provide other information. A dynamic lighting scenario in the LED light bar surrounding the front of the device signals that the tool is looking for a connection to the router in the workshop. Interactions with the tool, such as turning the mega macs X on and off or creating a connection to an external device, are supported visually by various lighting scenarios of the Swoosh. When pressing the button on the associated tablet, the Swoosh and the light strip on the back of the device will start flashing. This helps to match the right diagnostic tool with the tablet in an environment where several diagnostic tools are being used. Thanks to the large LED panel on the back of the device, users can read even from a considerable distance which functions the device is performing at the time, for example when the vehicle is on a lifting platform. As the diagnostic tool’s OBD connector is also illuminated, connecting it in the car’s footwell is made easier too.

Other lighting effects that support communication with the user are available in the form of an LED panel below the Swoosh LED bar. Five different LEDs signal various status modes and provide information on the car battery’s charging status, the execution of a device update, the battery level, the device’s Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connection or the creation of a direct connection between the vehicle and the manufacturer for the purpose of importing new software control units. By looking at the respective LED field, users can see at a glance what state the device is in at any given time. This visual communication is supported by light in a range of colours where each colour represents a specific status of the parameter in question. If the light of the battery icon is red, for example, the charge level is less than 20 per cent. An amber light indicates a charge level of between 20 and 40 per cent and a green light indicates that the battery is charged to over 40 per cent.