- Product innovations going the way of the “A Day in a Driver’s Life” slogan at the show
- Feasibility of automated driving by 2025 a highlight at the motor show
- Automotive supplier displays systems expertise in 1,100 m2 area
- Careers at Continental mark an additional focal topic during public days
At the 65th International Motor Show (IAA), the international automotive supplier, tire manufacturer, and industrial partner Continental is taking motorists along on a journey. Under the slogan “A Day in a Driver’s Life”, it depicts a “future mobile day”. The company is displaying innovations from the fields of safety, the environment, and information technology based on the daily routine of different drivers worldwide. This is all part of its new brand image, on view at booth A 08 in hall 5.1 from September 12 to 22, 2013. In a 1,100 m2 area, the company thus addresses the requirements of individual mobility in the years ahead.
Full coverage of the vehicle environment by means of Surround View, new solutions like “48 Volt Eco Drive” for graduated and affordable hybridization of the powertrain, latest-generation head-up displays, surface materials with enhanced scratch-resistance (TEPEO 2® Protect) and the current winter tire line-up are just some of the innovations on view. As a special highlight at the motor show, the automotive supplier is presenting its systems expertise in the domain of automated driving. In so doing, it is underscoring its “The Future in Motion” tagline.
When the public days get underway, Continental will also be presenting itself as a potential employer for engineers, scientists, and management experts interested in playing a role in shaping the individual and sustainable mobility of the future.
“Zero accidents, significantly lower fuel consumption, stress-free driving – these are no longer flights of fancy, but aims within reach. From a technical perspective, the lion’s share of the building blocks required is already in place today. Others are on the horizon. Now it is a matter of better networking the numerous individual solutions with one another and getting ever more of them into volume production. Then more and more millions of people around the world with large and small budgets will be able to sustainably realize their various needs and demands for individual mobility in the future,” said Continental CEO Dr. Elmar Degenhart, adding: “In the automotive industry, the future is increasingly upon us virtually overnight. Whereas it once took 12 years after a technology was invented for it to be used industrially, today the lead time is a mere three years or less. As part of our showing at this year’s IAA, we can therefore very accurately predict what a day in the life of a driver will look through to 2025. And I am convinced of one thing: It’s a future we can all look forward to.”
Surround View: Continental has the entire vehicular environment in eye
A further step in the direction of accident-free driving is a 360-degree surround detection. It covers not only the area in front of or behind the vehicle but the whole vehicle environment. At the IAA, Continental will thus be presenting a surround view system. Consisting basically of four cameras, it will be able to do more than just recognize objects and pedestrians. It will also be capable of warning the driver or braking the vehicle in a critical situation. An electronic control unit stitches the individual images from the cameras together to a type of panoramic image, so that the driver – for example on a display in the cockpit – can overlook the entire vehicle environment like from a bird’s perspective. It can likewise detect cross traffic in front of and behind the vehicle, include a lane keeping assist, detect objects in the blind spot and park on its own. The development of intelligent surround view systems for cars is, at the same time, of key importance in automated driving.
Continental´s “48 Volt Eco Drive” offers Mild Hybrid Functions
At the IAA, Continental provides a foretaste of a wide range of “Clean Power” solutions designed to make vehicles of the future more efficient and environmentally friendly while also offering strong performance.
A major role in “Clean Power” solutions will be played by electrification – subject to the twin requirements of attractive pricing and close tailoring to end user requirements. This is why Continental sees its new “48 Volt Eco Drive” system – which supplements the traditional 12V electrical network with a 48V electrical system and components – as an important way forward. This electrification solution bridges the gap between low-end hybridization, based on present-day 12V start/stop systems, and the more sophisticated high-voltage hybrid solutions. The “48 Volt Eco Drive” system is easy to install, while also offering many of the functions and fuel economy benefits that were previously confined to mild hybrids, with their higher voltage level. To illustrate these benefits, Continental has installed the “Eco Drive” system in a demonstrator vehicle. The system offers NEDC (New European Driving Cycle) fuel savings of around 13 percent. The 48V solution is getting great attention in our industry. Initial orders from customers point to a production launch in 2016.
The evolution of the head-up display (HUD)
In the area of information management, Continental is exhibiting a next-generation head-up display at the IAA. The head-up display is one of the elements of the human-machine interface that is increasingly important because of the ever rising amount of information in the car. Today’s head-up displays reach a virtual display size above the car hood of 6 degrees (wide) by 2 degrees (high). With this size, head-up displays serve primarily as a display unit for vehicle and traffic related content. The actual content consists of digits, simple graphics and text. However, the HUD requirements for future generations are increasing in terms of image size and quality. Continental has, therefore, integrated the Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) technology in the next evolutionary step for head-up displays. Compared to the TFT technology used today, this technology allows for higher magnification and thus a larger image size. Navigation arrows or an intersection’s geometry can thus be displayed in full color and in sufficient size. At the same time, with DMD technology, the HUD lays the foundation for future instruments with augmented reality (AR), where virtual screen content from navigation and driver assistance systems merge with the driver’s actual field of vision. In the future, information considered important will be highlighted directly in the area in which it occurs.
Scratch-resistant foils, narrower timing belts
In the domain of technical elastomer products and plastics technology, Continental is presenting two highlights. One of these is the new TEPEO® Protect and TEPEO 2® Protect surface materials. These boast a high resistance to scratches and can be used anywhere that scratches could typically ruin the visual effect – on the instrument panel, the center console, the storage compartment, or door and interior trim. The other highlight the supplier has on view is a novel timing belt in oil. It can be made narrower than the model which runs in the dry and is even quieter because the oil not only reduces friction but also damps the belt. This is important for the simple reason that the increasingly popular downsized engines by their very nature generally run less smoothly.
