Fully automated. self-driven cars could well be driving urban mobility needs in the not too distant future. The first set of prototypes of such vehicles have been developed by Continental Conrporation here.

Christened CubE (Continental Urban Mobility Experience), the vehicle is unmanned with high resolution cameras, 360 degree view, radar sensors, augmented reality and V2X monitoring. The Hannover-headquartered automobile technology solutions and tyre maker is bullish on its growth.

"We have complete portfolio to develop automated car. Now the roadmap is to equip it with motion control and other operational aspects,’’ Alfred Eckert, Director- Advanced Technology, Continental Corporation, told newspersons in the Continental Tech Show 2017 being held at its testing track Contidrome here.

Asked on the likely final rollout, the executive said: "It could be around 2025.’’

Continental recently tied up with Baidu in China, BMW Group, Intel and MobileEye for collaboration in various aspects of automated driving.

Once operational/technological aspects including cyber security are addressed, there are other issued to be tackled. ``We need to prove liability and safety. Legal systems are a challenge as they are not deeply clarified. The Vienna Convention needs some interpretation,’’ Eckert said

Cruiser Chauffeur:

Continental has also lined up with Cruiser Chauffeur solutions with new element of minimum risk maneuver feature. When there is a need for takeover from automated cruise to manual on account of system errors and road/weather conditions it prompts the driver to respond. If he fails to respond for light, voice and vibration based alerts it drives the car to a side and parks. A driver analyzer application with enriched features such as an infrared camera to capture eye movements, blink frequency and level of attention has also been developed Then there is trained parking in which a car self navigated to garage in pre-defined recorded pathway at home or office.

The 146-year-old company with a global turnover of 40.5 billiion euros (Dec 2016) sees automation as a solution to road safety and a way out of pollution. "There are 1.3 million fatalities on the road besides C0 2 pollutants. By 2020, there will be one billion people above 60 years. Our aim is to increase traffic safety and environmental protections,’’ he said.

Continental is showcasing 12 vehicles and 30 innovative technologies at the show.

The writer is in Hannover at the invitation of the company

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