Continental, the automotive supplier best known for its brakes and tyres, has announced a new project with the Nokia HERE mapping and location business. It follows an announcement in September last year, when HERE partnered with Continental Corporation, Magneti Marelli and Mercedes-Benz.
The two companies will start by developing map technology for Continental’s ‘Electronic Horizon’ platform that will enable a vehicle to determine its precise position on the road to within 10cm-20cm (3 to 8 inches) by using Lidar alongside GPS. These maps will include a wide range of road information including lane markings, speed limits and road signs. As a result, vehicles will be able to react to changing circumstances.
This Electronic Horizon solution with HERE data is expected to be made available to vehicle manufacturers and will form the basis for automated driving functionality that’s expected to be available in vehicles by 2020.
Ralf Lenninger, Head of Interior Electronics Solutions at Continental, said “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. 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.”
[HERE blog]