New Avenues: Vehicle Technology – and Specifically Connectivity – Can Ease Smart City Traffic
· “Sustainable mobility requires the development of solutions that go way beyond the single vehicle,” says Continental CEO Dr. Elmar Degenhart
· New solutions for connectivity, electrification and self-driving vehicles increase safety, make mobility easier for all and improve efficiency
· Smart cities can use Continental technology to improve traffic flow, reduce accidents and lower emissions
Hanover, (Germany), Las Vegas (NV, U.S.A.), January 8, 2018. Connectivity is one of three major Continental innovation streams. Together with electrification and automated driving, connectivity is the key to new functions and services that make mobility more intelligent and convenient on a day-to-day basis. At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the technology company is demonstrating new products and technologies from all three areas. Among the innovations is a new level of connectivity: By transferring vehicle-proven automation technology to the city infrastructure, Continental is now in a position to contribute to smart cities with various solutions, e.g. making intersections safer.
“City traffic is probably the major single challenge of future mobility. We all want traffic safety, less or at least smoother traffic, clean air and easier parking. To achieve this goal, cities need to rethink their traffic flow and transportation systems. Now is the time to support them in finding a new and more effective balance between individual mobility and shared transportation systems,” said Continental CEO Dr. Elmar Degenhart ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. “Sustainable mobility requires the development of solutions that go way beyond the single vehicle.”
Among the CES highlights is the newest version of Continental’s self-driving vehicle concept BEE (“Balanced Economy and Ecology mobility concept”) that enables a completely new approach to individual city mobility. In addition, it supports the Intelligent Intersection technology, which is planned to be implemented in the smart city of Columbus (Ohio).
The BEE is part of an entire mobility family in the urban environment of the future.
“Our intelligent and connected BEE concept will offer a new level of freedom and smooth individual mobility,” said Continental CTO Kurt Lehmann. “Our BEE is the concept of a fully connected self-driving vehicle that can be requested via an app. It contains an end-to-end chain of enabling technologies from all Continental divisions – from the tires through the drivetrain, to the automation and right up to the interaction concept.” The electric and autonomous BEE can, for instance, be used as part of a centrally managed city fleet to offer flexible and safe door-to-door mobility for everyone, from the partying young to the old and handicapped.
“Communicating” intersections for better safety
Irrespective of whether a car is being manually or automatically driven, or is a self-driving car – when it approaches an intersection, it can benefit from a Continental innovation in collaborative road safety: The Intelligent Intersection technology can turn today’s confusing intersections into safer, intelligent intersections by applying sensor-based technology, including object detection and sensor fusion, to broadcast, in near real-time V2X (i.e. vehicle to everything), safety communication. Continental’s comprehensive solution comprises three major elements for such a constant dialogue:
a) the complete sensor set for an intersection,
b) the powerful sensor fusion algorithms that generate the environment model and
c) the Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC) units, both at the intersection and in the vehicle.
Vehicle-to-X communications and sensor technologies turn today’s dangerous intersections into more safer, intelligent Intersections and protect vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists.
The concept detects all road users within a 360-degree perimeter of an intersection and communicates the position and movement of these objects to all approaching vehicles that are equipped with V2X technology. Continental plans to start the implementation of this Intelligent Intersection technology this year as a world’s first in Columbus (Ohio, U.S.A.) – 2016 winner of the U.S. DOT Smart City Challenge.
Electronic solutions for more safety and comfort while driving
Private transport will benefit from innovations aimed at making daily vehicle use safer and more comfortable. The latest examples demonstrated by Continental at the CES include:
· The automated trailering solution, which helps drivers handling trailers
· Continental’s award-winning 3D Surface Touch Display, which helps reduce driver distraction during control actions
· New sensor technology like the HFL 3D Flash LiDAR and 5th generation camera, which will improve the performance of an automated vehicle sensor set
· Highly practical charging technology like the Continental AllCharge system and the Continental Inductive Charging solution, which will improve the usability of electric vehicles: The AllCharge system is not only a “universal tool” for charging a car at every type of cable-charging station – it can also provide electric energy for power tools or even an entire home during a blackout.
