To showcase innovative products and services from server-based vehicle architecture and automated driving capabilities to its sustainable tyre concept
24 Dec 2021 | 5013 Views | By Autocar Pro News Desk
Technology company Continental, which is celebrating its 150th year in 2021, is to offer a glimpse into the future, presenting hands-on solutions for some of today’s mobility concerns at next month’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
“The future of mobility means safer, connected and more inclusive transportation systems. ...
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Technology company Continental, which is celebrating its 150th year in 2021, is to offer a glimpse into the future, presenting hands-on solutions for some of today’s mobility concerns at next month’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
“The future of mobility means safer, connected and more inclusive transportation systems. At CES, we are demonstrating the possibilities of achieving our vision zero goal and optimizing convenience for easy access to mobility for everyone,” said Gilles Mabire, Chief Technology Officer, Continental Automotive. “Continental’s innovative solutions on display are not only transforming the driving experience, they’re also reinventing the definition of mobility.”
Continental’s ShyTech displays is invisibly integrated into elegant surfaces that can resemble wood grain, carbon fibre, or leather.
ShyTech displays
Continental, which is striving for a seamless and innovative mobility experience, will demonstrate cutting-edge solutions in design, innovation, and functionality. This is seen in its award-winning ShyTech Displays, which restore simplicity and enhance safety without compromising on advanced functions. Control surfaces made of buttons, lights and switches are hidden and integrate into the display in a brand-new way. While the full range of control options is always there for a user, only relevant content is visible. Instead of presenting an ‘empty’ black display surface or numerous physical buttons, the ShyTech Displays create a more attractive cockpit design presenting an elegant surface that can be made to resemble wood grain, carbon fiber, or leather. The display can be a pillar-to-pillar solution, utilising the full width of the dashboard, or it can be used to create completely new interactive areas for drivers and passengers where displays traditionally were not in use before.
Switchable privacy display
The growth of display areas is one of the key trends across vehicle interiors, but this can lead to a disruptive experience for drivers. For the first time at CES, Continental will present its switchbable privacy display, aimed to entertain the front passenger while reducing distractions for the driver. With this technology, passengers can engage with multimedia content such as videos or the infotainment system outside the driver’s view.
The Privacy Display offers entertainment and information to the passenger without distracting the driver.
In private mode, a strongly directed backlight makes content fully visible only from the passenger’s viewing angle. If necessary, and if the traffic situation permits, the display can be switched to public mode, allowing the driver and the passenger to experience the selected content. As entertainment options become more prevalent in vehicles, technology like the Switchable Privacy Display is essential to reduce driver distractions.
In quest of Vision Zero
Crashes involving wrong-way drivers are among the most catastrophic, with almost 400 people killed every year in the United States. Continental offers a demo of its Wrong Way Driver system, which promotes safety by warning at-risk drivers about vehicles traveling the wrong way.
Early alerts about a wrong-way driver’s location, speed and direction of travel allow other drivers to take proactive safety measures. The technology relies on a combination of Continental sensors, connected vehicle systems and a heat-mapping algorithm. It is a self-learning system that works with roadside equipment to define the lane and direction of travel. The fully immersive demo puts users behind the wheel of a car in a scenario with a wrong-way driver. Participants will experience the situation with and without the Continental technology in a driving simulation.
The high resolution of the long-range LiDAR improves the classification of objects.
Alongside its partner AEye, Continental is debuting its HRL131 long-range LiDAR. This precision sensing technology is a critical component to enable the future of autonomous mobility. The HRL131 is a microelectromechanical system-based (MEMS) adaptive LiDAR for Level 3 and Level 4 assisted and automated driving solutions. This high-performance LiDAR technology enables key features for passenger and commercial vehicle applications by combining a high dynamic spatial resolution with long-range detection.
Its software defined scan patterns can be fully customized to adapt to any customer requirements. With that, the sensor is set up to handle the most difficult, dynamic environments for autonomous driving – from high-speed highway scenarios to densely packed urban roads. The HRL131 is on track for start of production in 2024 and will be the first high-resolution, solid-state long-range LiDAR sensor in the world to go into series production in the automotive market, joining Continental’s automotive grade short-range LiDAR, HFL 110, which is now in series production.
Continental’s WWD and LiDAR technologies support the company’s goal of Vision Zero: a goal for a future with zero crashes, zero fatalities and zero injuries.
Sustainable concept tyre
During CES, Continental will present its sustainable concept tyre, Conti GreenConcept. This conceptual study leverages both current and emerging technological approaches to the engineering of sustainable tyres for passenger cars.
Concept tyre leverages both current and emerging technological approaches to the engineering of sustainable passenger car tyres.
Continental says its goal with this integrative and sustainable concept is minimising resource consumption across every link in the tyre’s value chain. As a result, the study addresses everything from the sourcing and procurement of raw materials in the various stages of production up to ways of extending the tyre’s service life. Development engineers and materials experts rose to the occasion and found novel solutions to each of these challenges. The result, a tyre that consists of a particularly high percentage of traceable, renewable, and recycled materials, has an innovative, lightweight design that conserves valuable resources, and extended service life thanks to a renewable tread.
Continental has outlined an ambitious goal of becoming the most progressive tyre company with regard to ecological and social responsibility by 2030. By 2050, at the latest, it aims to be manufacturing its tyre products using 100 percent sustainably produced materials, achieving full climate neutrality throughout all its supply chains.