Premier Weil Visits Continental in Japan

“From highly automated driving on freeways and automated lane changing right through to fully automated parking – we develop and test all this technology at the Japanese test sites in Tokyo and, since 2016, also in Monbetsu in northern Japan. Japan wants to be one of the first countries in the world to bring highly automated driving onto the roads, and Continental can help make this a reality,” explained Berthold Wolfram, head of Continental in Japan, during the Premier’s visit.

As part of his visit, Premier Stephan Weil witnessed a test drive in a prototype vehicle for highly automated driving, which had been specially adapted to Japanese traffic requirements. In this kind of car, drivers can let go of the steering wheel and take their feet off the pedals, for example when driving on the freeway. In the interim, a high-performance computer performs the task of driving aided by a whole host of cameras as well as radar and laser sensors. Drivers only have to take back control of the vehicle when called to do so by the vehicle electronics. During the test drive, Stephan Weil talked to Berthold Wolfram about international automated driving development.

Continental has over 1,300 developers in Europe, the U.S.A., China and Japan working on automated driving to ensure its future feasibility in an increasing number of driving situations and vehicles. Maintaining close contact across national borders and performing tests in all regions is vital in ensuring that vehicle manufacturers can gradually bring this technology, which can be adapted to specific local requirements, into volume production.