Continental’s Smart Mobility Solutions Brighten Your Life

“Thanks to all-out efforts of the government and the strong support from the public, COVID-19 has been effectively and rapidly controlled in China. Since the second quarter of 2020, the Chinese automotive market has steadily recovered, and Continental China outperformed the market with positive year-on-year sales growth. Looking ahead, the goals of constructing smart cities and promoting sustainable development will further accelerate the future development of intelligent and diversified mobility in China. We will continuously cultivate the Chinese market, with comprehensive innovation and solutions to drive a safer, more connected and more convenient future mobility in China,” said Enno Tang, President and CEO of Continental China.

Safety is Continental’s prerequisite for the realization of Vision Zero, the vision of crash-free driving.

Continental’s electronic brake systems provide high performance braking, as well as stability in every situation at every time. Furthermore, Continental develops modular and scalable Future Brake and Motion Systems. By processing a lot of various extrinsic and intrinsic sensor signal inputs during the complex process of “braking”, Continental ensures the safest way to control vehicle motion and speed. Continental’s integrated One-box solutions are the entry into this future modularized, scalable braking and motion control systems.

During Auto Show Shanghai 2021, Continental displays global debut brake systems that pave the way towards Future Brake and Motion Systems:

MK C2, next generation of One-Box brake-by-wire system, makes a major contribution to safe, dynamic, and environmentally conscious driving. In addition, MK C2 provides 100% efficient regenerative braking and thus shapes the future of the upcoming Electric Vehicle market. By combining it with an existing braking system, MK C2 has a redundant fallback level for highly automated driving.

MK 120, new generation of conventional electronic brake systems, is a highly efficient brake system with up-to-date cybersecurity features and OTA functionality that can be easily installed in the vehicle. Again, with the Electric Vehicle market in focus, Continental can offer a MK 120 variant (called “EVE”) which is combined with a vacuum pump as well as a standard booster to offer an alternative compared to a brake by wire system.

In 2020, Continental joined hands with DIAS to develop an innovative and cutting-edge brake system solution, responding to the Chinese market demand. The brake systems solution of Continental ESC and DIAS eBooster is shown this time.

Regards to the trend of electrified vehicles, Continental provides effective integrated safety solutions. Most electric vehicles feature a skateboard chassis architecture with the battery pack installed across the bottom of the vehicle. Special protective measures are required to avoid or detect any intrusion. The lightweight Battery Impact Detection based on a pressure sensor system detects intrusions to the traction battery and thus can avoid short-circuits with the risk of fire. In addition, the sensor system can be used to detect intrusions into the battery from the front or side. Algorithms calculated within the airbag control unit recognize critical events and activate the corresponding vehicle protection systems.

Automated Driving is an evolutionary path to a new driving experience. Advanced driver assistance systems are trailblazers for the implementation of automated driving. Through the scanning of the vehicle’s surroundings by camera, radar and lidar, maximum safety and comfort can be ensured. With several decades of development experience the company has today a comprehensive ADAS product portfolio in this field.

As of this April, over 100 million long-range and short-range radar sensors have been produced by Continental since the start of production 20 years ago. Based on the solid foundation, we have been created a modular system with less complexity while simultaneously increasing performance. The newly launched sixth-generation radar has an improved detection range and higher resolution for accurate detection. This new radar sensor solution can cover forward looking applications for NCAP requirements up to automated driving functions. Furthermore, it outputs radar detection image with elevation containing altitude information to the domain control units for the construction of 360-degree radar environment.

Continental has short-range and long-range LiDAR technologies with their complementary set of benefits under one roof. Lidar technology is a breakthrough enabler for highly- or fully- automated driving. The state-of-the-art short-range flash LiDAR sensor HFL110 will show its outstanding performance of real-time machine vision as well as environmental mapping functions on site.

All major trends in the automotive industry including smart and autonomous mobility and software-defined vehicles require two decisive pillars: a reliable, high-speed, and ultra-low-latency connectivity to the outside world as well as a high-performance computing unit to process all the data coming into the vehicle. Continental will demonstrate for the first time its End-to-End Connected Car Networks solution at the upcoming Auto Shanghai, which addresses both these two requirements.

Continental designs its own 5G Network Access Device to enable the 5G next-generation connectivity which realizes reliable, fast, and ultra-low latency vehicle connectivity. It offers scalable processing power, enhanced cybersecurity, and supports different hardware options to ensure the highest connectivity standard. Continental also provides flexible system integration options for OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, from standalone Network Access Devices or full-scale integration into the Telematics Control Units or Intelligent Antenna Modules. Continental is already working with several global automotive manufacturers for 5G telematics based on its successful 5G Hybrid V2X platform.

A profound transformation of the vehicle’s E/E architecture coming along with a shift towards high-performance computing units is key to realize smart, safe and autonomous mobility. With the Body High Performance Computer, Continental builds the foundation for fully connected vehicles, as it manages data streams in the vehicle and serves as an intelligent interface to the Internet of Things (IoT). Furthermore, it also has the capability of cross-domain function integration including specific ADAS L2 functions. As the first Tier 1 supplier, Continental has brought a Body High Performance Computer into series production as the In-Car Application Server (ICAS1) for Volkswagen’s ID. electric vehicles.

Diversified solutions to make the mobility more convenient

Continental has continuously developed multiple solutions to deliver a more convenient and enjoyable user experience.

Continental brings the 3D Lightfield technology into a curved screen for the first time. The 3D Lightfield Curved Instrument Cluster simplifies human-machine interaction in the vehicle and enhances driving safety while further enhancing the flexibility of cockpit design. The 3D Lightfield technology enables all passengers in the vehicle to enjoy a 3D experience without special glasses or head tracker cameras. Visually, the 3D elements protrude up to ten centimeters from the display, making them pleasant to perceive but not irritating.

Continental and its partner Leia Inc. co-developed the first natural 3D Lightfield display in 2019 and integrated the technology in the center console in 2020. Now, both parties are bringing the 3D Lightfield technology into curved displays. Both the curved display design and the ability to display the cockpit in natural 3D significantly increase the visual and ergonomic design freedom, upgrade the experience of human-machine interaction to a new level.

Continental also presents a new modular and scalable contact sensor to detect scratches and damages. Structure-born and airborne sound are signals which provide valuable information about the immediate vehicle surrounding. The Contact Sensor System (CoSSy) is specially developed to pick up the sound patterns of a number of types of contact. If a parked car gets dented or scratched, the CoSSy sensors can give the incident a time stamp. The sensor signal could also be used to wake up the appropriate camera to take a picture of the situation or to make the other driver aware of the contact by sounding an alarm or sending information to a known smartphone. This would help to deter people from vandalism and to avoid unintentional hit-and-run situations. Rental car companies could easily check the car status as “undamaged” when the vehicles are returned.

The high-speed rotor position sensor measures the angular position of the rotor shaft in synchronous electric motors. The sensor signal is required for an efficient e-machine torque control used in electric and hybrid vehicles. This compact and slim sensing solution combine several functions, and its robust, overmolded PCB-less design can be easily mounted at the end of the rotor shaft.

Being lightweight is a major feature of Continental’s line solutions. In terms of driving, the lightweight vehicle can not only improve fuel economy and reduce emissions but also significantly improve the overall acceleration. For example, the turbocharger lubrication line displayed at this year’s trade show has achieved further weight reduction by using aluminum instead of steel, which can improve the power performance as much as possible with the reduced weight to achieve more flexibility mobility efficiency. Continental also uses high-performance plastics in the engineering of its lines. Besides, many functional components, like sound-absorbing resonators, can also be integrated into plastic lines in an easier way. The lightweight air induction hose line with a sound-absorbing resonator helps to improve the NVH performance with an average noise reduction of 20 dB and enables the drivers and passengers to further enjoy the pleasure brought by the lightweight solutions in the convenient mobility.