Press Release
Swarm Intelligence: Continental Tests the Connected
Vehicle
 Continental is testing the dynamic electronic horizon (eHorizon) on the roads for the first
time with demo vehicles.
 The swarm principle: Connected vehicles provide the basis for detailed and highly up-todate route information from the cloud.
 Applications range from next generation advanced driver assistance systems and
efficiency enhancement up to automated driving.
Frankfurt, November 5, 2015. The technology company Continental presented the first set of
driving test results for the connected, dynamic electronic horizon (eHorizon). For vehicles it is
becoming increasingly important to know what lies ahead, and today’s traffic reports and digital
road maps are no longer enough. What is needed is much more precise information about road
characteristics such as gradients, curve radii, temporary speed limits and other traffic signs, lane
changes due to construction work, and other important information. With its “dynamic eHorizon”,
Continental is offering a solution that can fulfill the information requirements of vehicles.
“The Internet will not only extend the selection of on-board infotainment, it will also directly improve
the vehicle. The principle behind this: the better the information base, the safer, more efficient, and
more comfortable the vehicle,” says Ralf Lenninger, head of System Development, Innovation, and
Strategy in Continental's Interior division. “In the future, vehicles will gather extremely accurate, upto-date, and reliable information about the road network in an “Internet of cars”, and make this
information immediately available to all road users.”
The potential for improvement already includes current advanced driver assistance systems such
as the adaptive cruise control, efficiency optimization of conventional and electrified drives, and will
also support the gradual approach towards automated driving. In the future, these improvements
will allow the electronic horizon to make an accurate assessment of a route, stating whether highly
or even fully automated driving is suitable for the upcoming route, or whether the driver can only
switch to partially automated driving and must still remain responsible for the vehicle.
Your contact:
Sebastian Fillenberg, phone: +49 6196 87-3709
-2Continental is testing the reliability of the dynamic eHorizon and its various applications in a series
of new demo vehicles. The vehicles are connected to Continental's backend platform via a mobile
radio module, allowing data exchange in both directions. The on-board systems thereby constantly
receive updated route and surroundings information such as additional topographical data or
temporary speed limits.
The connected vehicles can also feedback information from their own sensors and on-board
systems to the cloud. In doing so, the vehicles make their own contribution to constantly improving
and updating the map material and the additional information. Continental developers are using
this “swarm” principle as a basis for numerous intelligent applications.
A range of applications for the dynamic eHorizon
One possible application has been demonstrated by Continental's test vehicles. Through the use of
cameras, they detect variable speed limits and temporary traffic signs and report these to the
backend, where the information is verified and aggregated. If the reliability of the information is
confirmed, for example, by reports from multiple vehicles, the system can then update the map in
the backend and transmit it to all connected vehicles in the affected area. This allows tile-based
map updates, which for instance are used for next generation assistance functions. The highresolution road map stored locally in the vehicle will be supplemented as required by sections of a
HD map that is stored and continuously updated in the backend. The system therefore only ever
transmits the map section that is directly relevant to the current whereabouts of the vehicle,
keeping the transmission of mobile data traffic low but still always updating the vehicle with the
most recent map data.
Applications profit from increasingly detailed and extremely up-to-date route data
Continental's new test vehicles based on mid-range vehicles allow the functions described to be
demonstrated and tested in practice. The connection to the backend and the data analysis carried
out there can also be put to the test using the demo vehicles.
“The dynamic eHorizon allows Continental to offer a solution with which vehicle manufacturers can
perfect their advanced driver assistance system options, future drive technologies, and traffic
concepts,” says Lenninger. “The high-performance backend system ensures that all users of this
technology benefit from the up-to-date and increasingly detailed route data while also actively
contributing to improving the accuracy and data quality of this information.”
Your contact:
Sebastian Fillenberg, phone: +49 6196 87-3709
-3The data from the eHorizon makes numerous vehicle functions possible or improves their
performance. This is why trucks have already been using the static eHorizon from Continental
since 2012. They use eHorizon data to adjust their engine power based on the altitude profile of a
route, which according to Continental estimates saves an average of 1,500 liters of diesel per year.
The eHorizon can also provide useful information to hybrid vehicles with at least a 48-volt system,
allowing the drive system to be used as efficiently as possible. Fully electric vehicles can use the
information from the eHorizon in order to precisely calculate their range in advance. Thanks to
eHorizon, vehicles with adaptive cruise control can adjust their speed for variable speed limits or
curve radii, meaning that drivers only need to steer. The eHorizon also enables functions such as
the Augmented Reality head-up display. The exact information on the course of the road are being
used to generate the augmentation effect and display for example the navigation arrow in the
head-up display as if it was painted directly on the turning lane.
Continental develops intelligent technologies for transporting people and their goods. As a reliable partner,
the international automotive supplier, tire manufacturer, and industrial partner provides sustainable, safe,
comfortable, individual, and affordable solutions. In 2014, the corporation generated sales of approximately
€34.5 billion with its five divisions, Chassis & Safety, Interior, Powertrain, Tires, and ContiTech. Continental
currently employs more than 205,000 people in 53 countries.
In the Interior division, everything revolves around information management in the vehicle and beyond. The
range of products for various vehicle categories includes instruments, multifunction displays, head-up
displays, control devices, access and tire information systems, radios, infotainment and operating systems,
climate control units, software and cockpits, telematics solutions and services, and intelligent transport
systems. Interior employs over 36,000 employees worldwide and generated sales of approximately €7.0
billion in 2014.
Press Contact
Sebastian Fillenberg
Continental
External Communications Interior Division
Sodener Strasse 9
65824 Schwalbach am Taunus, Germany
Phone: +49 6196 87-3709
sebastian.fillenberg@continentalcorporation.com
This press release is available in the following languages: German, English
Links
Online press portal:
Your contact:
Sebastian Fillenberg, phone: +49 6196 87-3709
www.continental-presse.de
-4Online video portal:
http://videoportal.continental-corporation.com/
Online media database: http://www.continental-mediacenter.com
Your contact:
Sebastian Fillenberg, phone: +49 6196 87-3709