Detroit, Michigan, USA and Espoo, Finland – Continental, the international automotive supplier, and HERE, a leader in mapping and location services, have announced that their teams will intensify their collaboration in bringing the connected car to life, focusing on Electronic Horizon, future automated driving functionalities and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS).
The work, which starts now, will begin with the development of highly precise map technology for Continental’s Electronic Horizon platform that will enable a vehicle to continuously determine its position on the road to within 20 centimetres. The maps will include a range of road information, including lane markings and connectivity, speed limit changes, no passing signs and more. Using this information, all types of vehicles will be able to react comfortably to shifting circumstances, such as changing speed limits, automatically. The technology will enable enhanced anticipatory driving, leading to improvement for drivers in the areas of comfort, efficiency and safety.
Continental aims to provide a complete end-to-end connected Electronic Horizon solution based on HERE data and cloud services to vehicle manufacturers worldwide. The solution will also be the basis for Highly Automated Driving functionality that Continental targets to have in vehicles rolling off assembly lines by 2020. With more than 26 million telematics units produced worldwide, Continental is already providing the necessary systems for connected vehicles.
The collaboration between Continental and HERE not only fits their development roadmap in the area of automated driving but also paves the way for the advent of Intelligent Transportation Systems. Both companies believe that there will be many phases in the evolution towards connected intelligent transportation systems, of which automated driving is one.
“With precise map data from HERE and the connected Electronic Horizon, we will achieve advancements across all areas of today’s vehicle-based individual mobility,” explains Ralf Lenninger, Head of Interior Electronics Solutions, Continental. “With the connected Electronic Horizon, vehicle manufacturers will be able to reduce their vehicles’ CO2-footprint by at least two grams per kilometer. In addition, exact map data will make the driving experience more enjoyable and safe by providing useful information about road congestion so that drivers can predetermine alternate routes, as well as a way to adapt future LED headlight functions to the road ahead.”
“Providing an accurate, precise and timely representation of the roads and the vehicle environment is essential, not only for automated driving, but for all areas of advanced driving solutions. With our superior HERE LiDAR technology, rich data analytics and ability to integrate “dynamic” events, HERE is uniquely positioned to provide the highly accurate and always-fresh 3D maps required to enable such an experience,” said Ogi Redzic, Vice President, Connected Driving, HERE.
For nearly two decades Continental and HERE have jointly built navigation systems for the vehicle environment. Combining Continental’s expertise in automotive electronics system integration, including hardware, software, services and cloud solutions for Intelligent Transportation Systems with the core competencies of HERE in the areas of automotive-grade digital mapping and location intelligence, both companies now jointly work on the future of car connectivity.
