Press Release
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Continental's ice detectors at your service in winter
Technology made easy: how do sensors warn drivers of icy roads?
In future Continental will also rely on car-2-car communication to warn of black ice
Regensburg, November 2008. Successful rally drivers have human ice detectors to check
out each section of the route before a race. Although the average car driver does not have
these human helpers, the electronics can warn that ice may pose a danger. Continental's
sophisticated sensors can reliably measure the outside temperature and pass the data to the
onboard electronics. In future these sensors will even be able to warn other road users of
black ice.
These days, regular commuters and night-time drivers are particularly at risk because ice
hazards may lie in wait for them anywhere in winter, particularly first thing in the morning. But
a glance at the outside temperature gage can help to keep them safe. The display in the
instrument cluster can be relied on to let the driver know if it is cold enough outside for ice or
frost to form on the road surface.
What makes this possible is Continental's intelligent sensor, barely bigger than a matchstick,
and which can be installed, as desired, in the bumper, behind the radiator grill or in the
outside mirror casing. Safely enclosed in a robust plastic sheath the size of a fountain pen
cap, the sensor essentially consists of two hair-thin wires, connected to a head made of
sintered ceramic and magnesium, chromium, copper, nickel and iron oxides. Because the
electrical resistance of this mixture of materials drops as temperatures fall, intelligent
electronics can work out the corresponding temperature readings quickly and accurately.
Depending on the vehicle, the reading can either be displayed on the onboard computer or
used to issue a black ice warning below a certain threshold value. However, it is not just in
winter that the sensor plays an important role: the same data is used to control the automatic
climate control and to keep the temperature in the vehicle at a comfortable level.
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Your contact:
Enno Pflug, +49 6196 87 2515
Katja Mattl, +49 941 790 4192
-2So as to give the driver as accurate a picture as possible and to give him timely warning, as
he drives his car out of its warm garage, that the temperature is around the critical freezing
point, Continental's sensors react extremely quickly and sensitively. Individual measurements
are taken at intervals of under twelve seconds with the ability to detect differences of less
than 0.3 degrees. However, many vehicle manufacturers have introduced an intentional
element of imprecision: so that the readings displayed on the instrument cluster do not
change constantly, they are often re-set only once every minute. The driver is given a clear
idea of whether the outside temperature indicates a potential black ice hazard. He should
then adjust his driving to the weather conditions accordingly.
Although the temperature sensor has been of valuable assistance as an "ice detector" for
some considerable time, vehicles today have other data sources available to them to warn of
black ice. The ASR sensors and the stability program, for example, can both provide
information about current road conditions. And, in future, motorists may actually be able to
use ice detectors to check the road well ahead of them. Continental is already bringing an icy
roads early warning system to production readiness, a system which will make use of the
sensors installed in vehicles in front. But this will not render the conventional temperature
sensor redundant because, after all, without a thermometer, even a human ice detector
cannot carry out this task on which rally drivers so critically depend.
With targeted annual sales of €25 billion for 2008, the Continental Corporation is one of the top
automotive suppliers worldwide. As a supplier of brake systems, systems and components for the
powertrain and chassis, instrumentation, infotainment solutions, vehicle electronics, tires and technical
elastomers, the corporation contributes towards enhanced driving safety and protection of the global
climate. Continental is also a competent partner in networked automobile communication. Today, the
corporation employs approximately 146,500 at nearly 200 locations in 36 countries.
Continental AG’s Powertrain division is specialized in vehicular integration of innovative and efficient
drivetrain systems. These solutions boost performance and enhance ride comfort while reducing
consumption and emissions. As partner to the automotive industry, the division, operating at over sixty
locations worldwide, develops and produces a wide-ranging product portfolio extending from gas and
diesel injection systems and engine and transmission controls through to components and systems for
hybrid drives. The Division posted sales of more than €5 billion in 2006. It currently has a workforce of
around 26,000.
Supplying both, OEMs and the Aftermarket worldwide, the Interior Division of Continental AG develops
and produces electronic systems which allow the information in a vehicle to be controlled and
communicated according to the requirements of the driver and the driving situation. The Division
achieves annual sales of more then € 6 billion (based on 2006 figures) with a workforce of more than
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Your contact:
Enno Pflug, +49 6196 87 2515
Katja Mattl, +49 941 790 4192
-333,000 employees currently. The range of products includes instruments clusters and multifunctional
displays, control units, electronic car entry systems, tire information systems, climate control systems,
radios, multimedia and navigation systems, telematic solutions as well as cockpit modules and
systems. The Interior Division develops vehicle electronics enabling car-to-car and car-toinfrastructure communication, Internet access and the seamless integration of mobile devices (car-todevice). The focus on systems integration offers customers less complexity and ensures efficient and
cost-effective solutions for the management of information in passenger cars as well as commercial
and special vehicles.
Enno Pflug
External Communication Division Interior
Continental Automotive GmbH
Sodener Strasse 9
D-65824 Schwalbach/Taunus
Phone: +49 6196 87 2515
Fax: +49 6196 87 79 2515
enno.pflug@continental-corporation.com
Katja Mattl
Vice President Communications
Continental
Powertrain Division
Siemensstrasse 12
93055 Regensburg, Germany
Phone: +49 941 790 4192
Fax: +49 941 790 6073
katja.mattl@continental-corporation.com
Corporate Media Database: www.mediacenter.continental-corporation.com and
www.vdo.com/press
Your contact:
Enno Pflug, +49 6196 87 2515
Katja Mattl, +49 941 790 4192