Continental, a global automotive supplier with its North American headquarters in Auburn Hills, has acquired a sensor technology business from Advanced Scientific Concepts Inc., based in California, to enhance the company’s advanced driver assistance systems. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The technology provides both real-time machine vision as well as environmental mapping functions, enabling a more detailed and accurate field of vision around the entire vehicle, independent of day or nighttime and weather conditions.
“At Continental, we continue to invest in R&D for next generation technologies — such as automated driving — that will drive us toward a safer, more efficient, and more comfortable future,” says Frank Jourdan, president of the chassis and safety division at Continental. “It’s clear to us that automated driving will be a key element in the mobility of the future, and therefore the development and enhancement of our advanced driver assistance systems portfolio is the basis.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Advanced Scientific Concepts employees, primarily engineers, will join the chassis and safety division of Continental as a business segment within the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems business unit. The company is planning to have more than 100 engineers in this area of technology in the long term.
“A range of surrounding sensors is needed to progress safely to the higher levels of automated driving,” says Karl Haupt, executive vice president of the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems business unit. “It is important to have Hi-Res 3-D Flash LIDAR (laser light radar) in our technology portfolio to further strengthen and enhance our leadership position in the development of automated driving.”
Germany-based Continental is a developer of tires, brake systems, automotive safety systems, and powertrain components. The company has more than 205,000 employees in 53 countries. The company has also developed technologies to connect vehicles and pedestrians via smartphones to help make drivers more aware of passive and moving objects, along with a new film technology that shades car windows.
