She developed Scania´s new City Door from thesis concept to commercial launch
10 DECEMBER 2020
Few have the opportunity to see their Master’s theses come to fruition. Development Engineer Christine Eriksson at Scania customised truck development is a privileged exception. Together with former fellow student and current colleague Anna Tisell, she in 2017 developed the concept for what has now been launched as the City Door.
“It’s immensely satisfying to take a concept from an idea to a commercial product,” she says. “It was clear already back then that Scania was eager to develop the product and that there was a real need for it. That made our thesis work all the more exciting.”
The two engineering students came to the conclusion that a concept with an asymmetric and automatic folding door was the best option. They also concluded that retaining the current door interface for the new door solution would be most beneficial since that would not affect the cab structure and thereby enable certification.
Their efforts were deemed so valuable by Scania that the detailed thesis was withheld from being openly published. And a token of that esteem Eriksson was immediately offered employment at Scania to continue working on the glass door.
“As I started working with the development project, it soon became apparent that a folding door would not be the optimal solution and we developed the concept further to an undivided inward gliding glass door. That not only enhances the quality but perhaps more importantly provides a better field of vision since the divider doesn’t obscure the view.”
In many ways Eriksson describes the L-cab with the City Door as an entirely new product. As such, it has required countless hours of developmental efforts, both in new hard- and software. “It’s been very challenging but also an awesome adventure. And now we have a product that is the best in the market.”