Continental’s DMD Head-Up Display and Safety Domain Control Unit Selected as 2018 Automotive News PACE Award Finalists

·    Digital Micromirror Device head-up display (DMD HuD) provides vivid colors, a large field of view and can be viewed while wearing polarized sunglasses.

·    The Safety Domain Control Unit (SDCU) combines active and passive safety functions into one unit.

·    This marks Continental’s tenth consecutive year having its innovations selected as finalists for the prestigious PACE Award.

Auburn Hills, Michigan, October 17, 2017 - The international automotive supplier Continental has two of its technologies recognized as finalists in the 2018 Automotive News PACE (Premier Automotive Suppliers Contribution to Excellence) Award program. Continental has had PACE Award entries advance as finalists for ten consecutive years.

“Our entire team here at Continental is very proud of being recognized as finalists in this year’s Automotive News PACE Awards for developing leading edge technologies,” said Samir Salman, CEO, Continental North America. “DMD HuD and Safety Domain Control Unit are prime examples of advancements in vehicle safety and will help us to achieve a future with zero fatalities, zero injuries and zero accidents. Having two of our technologies advance as finalists is testament to the achievements of our team at Continental and a great motivator.”

With DMD HuD, Continental has used technology known from cinema projectors to develop an exclusive windshield head-up display (HuD) that provides vivid colors, a large field of view and can be viewed while wearing polarized sunglasses. It enhances driving safety by displaying the most important information directly in the driver’s field of view and keeping the driver’s eyes on the road. Previous versions of HuD technology had limited projection distances and limited color depth.  Also, the virtual image was impossible to see while a driver was wearing polarized sunglasses. While solving these issues, the projection HuD is also an expandable system that has the potential and technical robustness to integrate augmented reality systems and ultimately aid in automated driving by giving end users a realistic HMI experience. DMD HuD is first available on the 2017 Lincoln Continental and 2018 Lincoln Navigator.

Continental’s Safety Domain Control Unit (SDCU) is a new approach to integrated vehicle safety systems and combines active and passive safety functions into one unit. The SDCU opens up the possibility of powerful processing sensor data from active safety sources such as driver assistance systems for improved and adaptive activation of passive safety systems. It was designed together with a German premium car manufacturer and surpasses previous passive safety systems.

This year’s awards will be presented on April 9, 2018, at the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center in Detroit. In 2017, Continental won an Automotive News PACE Award for its MK C1 Integrated Brake System

For the more than 20 years, The Automotive News PACE Awards have honored superior innovation, technological advancement and business performance among automotive suppliers.