From 2014, Continental, the international automotive supplier, will also start producing the enhanced SPEED S variant of its scalable Safety Platform for Efficient and Economical Design (SPEED) in China. At the same time, Continental will begin supplying a Chinese vehicle manufacturer with a SPEED S control unit, developed and produced locally in Changchun. Also integrated into this Safety Control Unit (SCU) will be the vehicle dynamics sensors which supply data to the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) system.
From 2014, Continental, the international automotive supplier, will also start producing the enhanced SPEED S variant of its scalable Safety Platform for Efficient and Economical Design (SPEED) in China. At the same time, Continental will begin supplying a Chinese vehicle manufacturer with a SPEED S control unit, developed and produced locally in Changchun. Also integrated into this Safety Control Unit (SCU) will be the vehicle dynamics sensors which supply data to the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) system
SPEED XS control unit in use in China since mid-2012
Thanks to the SPEED unit’s modular design, the airbag control unit is becoming a comprehensive safety domain controller. Launched on the global market in 2009, its five variants – from XS and S to M, L and XL – have been developed to fit the requirements for different levels of active and passive safety complexity. The requirements and economic conditions of different markets and applications are met by scalable hardware modules (ASICs, micro-controllers) and scalable software and mechanics (housings) modules. The SPEED platform forms part of ContiGuard®, Continental’s comprehensive function and network concept for active and passive safety.
The basic variant (SPEED XS) includes activation of the restraint systems in the event of front and side impacts. Continental has been producing this SPEED XS airbag control unit in China since mid-2012. 2014 should see the first SPEED S safety control units with integrated driving dynamics sensor being produced in China itself. “We set up local teams in this important market some years ago and we intend to expand our presence here,” said Dr. Schnupp, “because we reckon that, in the long or short run, China will introduce more far-reaching statutory provisions in relation to vehicle safety equipment and, in particular, to the use of ESC.”
The larger SPEED variants (M, L and XL) can include not just vehicle dynamics sensors, but a rollover sensor, a crash impact sound sensor and interfaces to numerous external sensors (camera, radar, lidar). This means that in premium vehicles with high-performance environmental sensors the role played by the SPEED control unit can be expanded to that of a comprehensive safety domain controller, i.e. a central control unit for coordinating safety functions. ContiGuard® functions, such as PreCrash or Post Crash Braking, include assessing critical driving situations and activating the appropriate braking function or reversible restraint system.
