Auburn Hills-based Continental, an automotive supplier, today announced it has developed a 360-degree camera with enhanced viewing to make it easier to park and back up vehicles hitched to trailers.
“Backing up or parking a vehicle with a trailer is stressful and difficult, even for the most advanced drivers,” says Steffen Linkenbach, Continental North America’s head of systems and technology. “By exploring new approaches, we are making it easier, more efficient, and safer.
The Trailer Reverse Assist offers a driver the option to use a smartphone to control low-speed steering, braking, and acceleration while standing outside the vehicle to back it into the desired position.
“It gives the driver added visibility that is usually only seen by someone providing guidance outside the vehicle,” Likenbach says.
The Trailer Reverse Assist will be available as a mounted control knob that allows the driver to maneuver the car from the driver’s seat. The camera will display the projected trailer path on the vehicle’s center console screen.
Continental offers airbag electronics, driver assistance systems, and brake control systems, and employs about 200,000 people in 53 countries.
The Trailer Reverse Assist system will be ready for production by 2018.
