Continental will be showcasing future technology at this Autumn’s IAA Show in Hanover, Germany. Richard Simpson gets a preview
In addition to any new vehicles that get launched by manufacturers, Germany’s IAA Show always provides some interesting insights into what’s coming to the market next, in terms of the technology that we will see a few years down the road.
This is because the IAA is a genuine industry show; beside the vehicle manufacturers selling their products to operators you will find tier one and two suppliers showing the latest in the componentry and systems that will equip vehicles of the future.
Among them will be Continental. The German company is best known for tyres, but this is a cause of some good-natured frustration for employees of other divisions of the group, which is a giant when it comes to the supply of parts and technology to the automotive sector as a whole. [wlm_nonmember][…]
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Dynamic eHorizon
Besides supplying much of the hardware that we take for granted in today’s vehicles, the company is also working on ambitious projects, including the so-called dynamic eHorizon, which will build on Continental’s existing static eHorizon predictive cruise control technology, that uses topographic data and a GPS signal to assist equipped vehicles in tasks such as the selection of the correct gearchange strategy to climb a particular hill, to allow equipped vehicles to exchange information about the route ahead with each other.
Continental claims that, since the introduction of static eHorizon in 2012, equipped trucks have saved an estimated 830 million litres of diesel. Sharing information about traffic conditions in real time could allow further fuel savings of up to 2%, Continental claims. Primarily, the dynamic eHorizon compares the speed of the subject vehicle with that of other equipped vehicles further ahead. The dynamic eHorizon relays this information to the control units of the drivetrain, and uses predictive algorithms to advise the driver to initiate coasting, braking or downshifting as appropriate in accordance with both the traffic conditions and topography, with topographic data supplied by HERE Technologies, a global mapping provider.
HERE was started by Nokia, the mobile telephone manufacturer, and subsequently sold to a consortium formed by VW, BMW and Daimler, with Bosch, Continental, Pioneer and Intel as junior partners in 2015 as the German car industry took its first steps on the route to the development of autonomous vehicles.
As an example of how the system works, dynamic eHorizon may determine that the best fuel-saving strategy for a subject vehicle, given traffic conditions and terrain, is to freewheel. The driver is alerted to this by warning lights on the dashboard, and if he removes his foot from the accelerator the subject vehicle will automatically freewheel. The driver can resume control at any time by depressing the brake or accelerator as appropriate. Dynamic eHorizon can also warn of hazards such as stopped traffic around a bend or a slippery road surface ahead, by using data transmitted from other vehicles.
Cyclist safety
Collisions between cyclists and large vehicles undertaking nearside turns are currently a hot topic in Germany as well as London. Apparently, about one-third of German cycle fatalities involve turning vehicles and both the European Commission and the German Government have been pushing for the mandatory installation of safety systems in large vehicles as a consequence.
Currently, available systems will warn the driver of the possible presence of a vulnerable road user in his blind spot by using radar. Warning lamps or buzzers warn the driver of the hazard. The second-generation systems will take this a stage further. Cameras will monitor the position of infrastructure such as railings and, with a better picture of what’s going on, the system will be able to brake the vehicle autonomously if a dangerous situation arises as fewer false alarms will be generated.
The performance of the system will be further enhanced in the future by the combination of cameras with gesture recognition technology being developed by Continental in its computer vision lab. New software and algorithms are being developed in the journey towards autonomous driving, and one technique is ‘gesture recognition’ which uses machine imaging and learning techniques to recognise approaching pedestrians or cyclists as humans and interpret their intentions. This will allow the turn assistant to predict the person’s intentions in the same way that an alert and experienced human driver would, and take appropriate anticipatory action.
Computer Vision Lab Software Project Manager Christian Eilers said: “We must observe the fine line between normal and critical traffic situations so the system issues a warning or triggers emergency braking only when there is a real danger. We call it the prevention of false positives and it is to be decisive in the introduction of automatic emergency braking and important for driver acceptance.”
Two generations of the turn assistant will be demonstrated on the Continental stand at the IAA Show, and the system can also be seen in operation on a Continental demonstration vehicle in the showground, although the gesture recognition technology is still some years away from being a production offering.
New bus cockpit
Continental is now campaigning hard for a change in legislation to allow its smart cameras to replace the main conventional rear-view mirrors on large vehicles. Conventional mirrors are currently a requirement for European Union type-approval, but Continental claims that its cameras and in-cab monitors offer superior vision in all light conditions. Other bonuses to come from the deletion of main mirrors include reduced accident damage, improved aerodynamics and even a vehicle that is easier to wash, as automated wash brushes will not have to swing out around bulky mirror structures.
In-cab rear-view monitors can be built into Continental’s all-new bus ‘cockpit’: the modular Driver Workplace (mDWP). This will be launched at the IAA Show as the future replacement for the company’s existing bus driver’s cockpit, which is now 18-years old and, according to Dr Michael Ruf, head of commercial vehicles and aftermarket at Continental, due for replacement not least because it was designed to work with 18-year-old technology and componentry, which is becoming obsolete.
Because of relatively small production runs, many coach and bus manufacturers buy-in complete drivers’ cockpits, incorporating steering wheels, instruments, controls and seating. Continental co-operates with seat manufacturer Isri in its products.
Dr Ruf explains that the mDWP meets all requirements for the agreed European Bus System of the Future, and has digital architecture. Out go conventional analogue instruments, to be replaced with a fully-programmable 12.3 in thin-film transistor (TFT) liquid crystal display colour screen. This is programmed to show information pertinent to what the vehicle is actually doing; for instance, there is a speed and navigation display when the vehicle is moving, but when the bus stops it switches to monitor cameras over the bus entrance and exit. This can be automatically activated by the suspension kneeling or saloon doors being operated.
Electric buses get a screen option showing battery condition and charge state.
The central screen is surrounded by plug-in modules which incorporate separate control panels for systems such as the bus transmission, the saloon climate control, doors and ramps, ticketing, route information and so on. Old-fashioned rocker switches have been replaced by illuminated push-buttons, and a small head-up display can be used to show road information such as the posted speed limit.
All the various panels and modules are connected by CANBus, making the system adaptable to varying operator requirements. The modular design means the same components can be used to create left and right-hand drive versions, and Continental is already in negotiations with a well-known UK bus manufacturer.
The system can also be adapted while a vehicle is in service. For instance, a touring coach might have a driver’s cup holder, but the entire module can be removed and replaced with one controlling a ticket machine if the vehicle is repurposed to commuter duties.
Individual settings can either be ‘remembered’ or the cockpit returned to a base ‘home’ setting each time the vehicle is switched off. The mDWP is in final testing with chassis manufacturers, and will appear on production coaches and buses next year.
Next generation tachos
Also appearing next year is the latest generation of smart digital tachographs, which become mandatory on new-build vehicles registered from 15 June 2019. This may still seem a time away, but the reality is that on vehicles like coaches which have long production times, these will need to be specified on new vehicle orders from January onwards.
Continental is active in the market via its VDO subsidiary, and its new DTCO 4.0 smart tachograph will be at the IAA Show.
The major difference between this and its predecessors is its connections with the outside world and ability to store and transmit what Continental describes as ‘trusted data.’
But first, to clear up a widely-circulated myth, the instrument will not do an automatic download of all its stored data with all infringements highlighted every time it passes an enforcement point. However, suitably equipped enforcement officers will be able to carry out a remote check on passing vehicles which will reveal if the tachograph has been interfered with. Besides calibration, possible offences that could be highlighted include driving without a card inserted or the use of an interference device to stop the instrument recording. The information is transmitted via a small antenna in the vehicle windscreen and no further modification is required to the vehicle wiring. Further fraud protection includes an internal motion sensor that will record if the vehicle has been driven without the tachograph activated.
New generation tachographs are also linked to global satellite navigation networks, which precisely record the vehicle’s position at the start and end of each shift; previous digital tachographs just require the driver to manually select which country the vehicle was in.
There’s a dual encryption system which allows the interoperability of existing driver and operator cards alongside the new versions with more powerful encryption.
The new instrument can also function as a vehicle box for road toll systems, and it even incorporates an axle-weighing system via the vehicle’s CANBus allowing the introduction of tolls based on the vehicle’s actual weight.
Further information from the vehicle can also be harvested, including, for example, fuel tank levels which could be sent to fuel card companies for account management purposes. Other information can be sent to the providers of payroll services, with the tachograph acting in the same manner as a timesheet and transmitting recorded duty and driving times automatically.
All these functions will be carried out using Continental’s TIS-Web fleet management software, and the instrument and all its functions have been designed around the constraints of GDPR.
Dr Lutz Scholten, head of tachographs, telematics and services at Continental, said: “We are looking forward to supporting the transport industry in its implementation of new ideas with our competence in tachographs and telematics.”
In other words, the new instruments could prove to be valuable operational tools for coach fleet managers as well as a means of ensuring a level playing field in compliance across the transport industry.
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