Father and Son – United in Safety
Lucas: I’m a Demo and Benchmark Engineer in Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). I was a Continental intern for one year, starting in 2016. I majored in Mechanical Engineering in college, because that’s what I always wanted to do. I thought about working at Continental at some point, but didn’t know it would be so soon.
Elmar: I’m Chief Engineer for Hydraulic Brake Systems. I’ve been at Continental for 32 years. I started in Frankfurt as a designer in brakes, then moved to Brazil for 11 years. Then in 2006 we came here to the U.S. and have been working in Auburn Hills ever since.
Lucas: We’ve never really worked together on projects because our departments are completely separate, but our work does ultimately support #SafelyThere – a campaign aimed to raise public awareness around the life-saving potential of advanced vehicle safety technologies.
Lucas: We’re making sure people are safe while driving. ADAS assists the driver and prevents crashes by alerting the driver or actively intervening. We have cameras, radars and other sensors in ADAS that can detect vehicles, lanes, pedestrians – and then activate the brake or steering system if necessary.
ADAS is still an emerging market and an increasing number of cars are using this technology, however a lot of people don’t fully understand the capabilities. They think because certain parts are automated, they don’t have to pay attention. That’s not the case. The software still has some limitations, but we’re working every day to reduce those. Ultimately, though, having an engaged driver is critical to safety.
Elmar Fuchs (left) and his son, Lucas (right), work at each end of the engineering spectrum. Together, they’re making the world safer for all road users.
