At the Consumer Electronics Show 2015 in Las Vegas,
Continental is highlighting how automotive electronics benefit from connecting
the vehicle to the cloud under the company’s exhibition theme, “the power of
intelligent mobility.” The international automotive supplier is demonstrating
this to its customers using four innovation paths: Control, Entertainment,
Information and Safety.
"At the 2015 CES, we are demonstrating how the online
world is rapidly evolving to make our vehicles more attractive, safer and more
efficient. This is why we are showcasing ready-to-market solutions for the
intelligent vehicle to our customers," said Helmut Matschi, member of the
Continental Executive Board and head of the Interior division.
The Dynamic
Electronic Horizon
At the core of Continental’s innovations for CES this year
is the dynamic electronic Horizon (eHorizon). Together, with its collaboration
partner IBM and the location cloud company HERE and, Continental turns the
digital map into a high-precision and constantly up-to-date sensor that can be
used for much more than just navigation.
“With the dynamic eHorizon we have the ability to
incorporate dynamic events like weather, traffic or construction sites on the
route into the digital map and make this information available for vehicle
electronics,” said Matschi. The information is gathered from a multitude of
sources based on the principle of crowd-sourcing. “In fact the dynamic eHorizon
turns cars into moving sensors, which constantly exchange data on the road with
the cloud”, he continued.
With the dynamic eHorizon being the focal point of
Continental’s CES exhibit, the automotive supplier is also showcasing how other
systems benefit from the cloud. This starts with connected energy management
for Continental’s mild hybrid system 48 Volt Eco Drive, which allows for the
most efficient operating strategies during the drive. At the heart of this, the
connected central powertrain controller from Continental uses the information
from the cloud to improve functions like sailing, coasting or energy
regeneration. The use cases for Continental’s eHorizon extend even further and
include highly automated driving, where eHorizon technology is needed to allow
the vehicle to ‘look around the corner’.
Telematics: Continental
powers Subaru’s STARLINK
At the beginning of any connected service, stands a reliable
connection to the mobile data network. With nearly two decades of experience,
Continental has proven its expertise in connecting the car to the online world.
Beginning this summer, Continental’s latest LTE capable Telematics Module will
enable a wide variety of connectivity services for Subaru’s in-vehicle
technology, STARLINK, for US market vehicles. The range of services available
to Subaru owners will include Stolen Vehicle Locator assistance, Automatic
Collision Notification, remote vehicle services like lock/unlock via smartphone
device, and monthly diagnostics reports keeping customers in touch with key
vehicle functions. For Continental, the dynamics in the connectivity market
demonstrate how essential these features are becoming for drivers all around
the world, and that Continental’s technology is well-suited to serve this need.
Smart Watch – Intelligent
Key: New Access Technologies from Continental
For Continental, getting connected starts outside the
vehicle. “We enable drivers to use the consumer electronics devices they are
familiar with to control integral functions of the vehicle. For example, at
CES, Continental is demonstrating how it transforms a smart watch on the
driver’s wrist into a remote car key,” said Matschi.
The smart watch as a car key is using Bluetooth to connect
to Continental’s latest bidirectional remote key – also known as the gateway
key. The gateway key works as an interface between the vehicle and the smart
watch to transfer data (vehicle and diagnostics data, and user profile) to the
vehicle. The smart watch is used as an operating device. Through an App, the
driver can open or close the vehicle or exchange other information simply by
using the display of the smart watch.
Curved and brilliant: OLED
Touch display
Just as touch screens have become increasingly important in
mobile phones with the switch from cell phones to smartphones, vehicles need
the flexibility of touch screens with more functionalities and connected
services entering the vehicle. With its curved OLED Touch Display, Continental
is now offering a strong contrast, capable of displaying bold colors with no
background lighting and a magnitude of interaction possibilities with touch
functionality.
The most striking detail is that Continental’s new display
is curved, which allows car manufacturers the design freedom to seamlessly
integrate the display, in the center console, for example. Using special
electronics and chemically hardened glass, Continental has also ensured that
the display meets automotive requirements and lasts for many years.
Augmented Reality: More
efficient diagnosis and repair
Connected Services extend into the aftermarket and can help
to facilitate diagnosis and the repair of vehicles. For that reason,
Continental has its ‘Connected Technician’ solution that places the technician
at the center of the process using Augmented Reality technology. The tablet application
connects to the car via a wireless communication interface and guides the
technician step-by-step through the entire diagnosis and repair process. It
puts all of the information necessary for each step, i.e. work instructions,
faulty parts or the exact tool needed for a certain job, in front of the
technician allowing them to focus on the vehicle. Integration with dealer
management systems ensures that the technician is working on the right job and
a full feature diagnostics runtime automatically recognizes the vehicle type,
detects faults and provides the complete technical information available for
the car. Overall, the intuitive operation leads to a much simpler, faster and
more accurate diagnosis and repair and also optimizes service planning. At CES,
Continental also shows how Augmented Reality applications with voice input and
feedback enable the technician to remain hands-free, therefore working even
more efficiently.
Environment sensors:
Intelligence for safe and comfortable driving
Environment sensors, like cameras, radar and lidar provide
the vehicle with the intelligence that allows the driver stress-free driving.
They make a great contribution, by sensing the environment around the vehicle
and increasing driving safety, to reach Continental’s goal of accident-free
driving. When it comes to safety, monitoring not only the area in front of, or
behind a vehicle, but also all around it, will be the next step towards
accident-free driving.
With Surround View, Continental provides a complete 360-degree
view around the entire vehicle. The combination of a rear-view camera with an
active Advanced Driver Assistance Systems braking solution will help to minimise
the numerous fatalities and injuries caused by back over crashes. In 2014,
NHTSA issued a mandate that will require all light vehicles to have rear-view
visibility technology (backup cameras) by 2018. Additionally, these sensors
enable and provide a fallback option for automated driving. These sensors, and
the fusion of sensor data, will evolve to realize the next steps of partially,
highly and ultimately fully automated driving.