Conti technology helps cars to "drive themselves"

ERJ staff report (SS)

Las Vegas - Continental will be displaying its new technology which allows cars to drive themselves at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas from 9-10 Jan.

A car, named "the boss," is the first to utilise the technology and “drives itself by relying solely on radar and in-vehicle intelligence as its guide,” said Conti, in a 7 Jan statement.

"We are excited to be using our electronics expertise to help our automotive customers develop safety technologies that achieve our vision of zero vehicle crashes and injuries in the future," said Bill Kozyra, president and CEO Continental North America and executive board member, in the statement.

The driverless vehicles were first exhibited at the 2007 Urban Challenge where they traversed suburban roads at speed with real traffic. The vehicles operated without human guidance and relied only on sensors and computers. The also had to obey traffic laws, merge into moving traffic, avoid obstacles, and negotiate intersections.

"This was a historic day in the push to make vehicles safer and smarter," said Dr Karl-Thomas Neumann, Continental's chief technology officer. "The Continental environmental sensors performed flawlessly and helped Tartan Racing's driverless vehicle 'Boss' see the path to victory, moving intelligent vehicle technology forward."

Cars incorporating the technology could be ready for sale within a decade according to General Motors.

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Press release from Conti