Continental develops easy-to-recognise jacket for vulnerable road users

Continental has joined forces with the outdoor clothing specialist Urban Circus to develop a highly Detectable Jacket that offers cyclists and pedestrians a new dimension of safety on the road. As the daylight hours shrink, vulnerable road users like cyclists and pedestrians become more difficult to spot by the human eye and vehicles alike. In comparison to conventional high-visibility jackets, the Detectable Jacket is much better recognisable to the human eye. It is also up to twice more visible to LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and camera sensors of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), which constantly monitor the vehicles' surroundings. For this solution, the partners have bundled their competencies – Urban Circus its expertise in outdoor clothing that protects against darkness, wind and rain, and Continental its experience with vehicle sensors – and developed a safe, stylish jacket  that is suitable for everyday use.

“Our ‘Vision Zero’ – zero fatalities, zero injuries, zero crashes – not only includes automobile users, but also focuses especially on vulnerable road users. With the Detectable Jacket, a joint innovation from Continental’s own development and production service provider Continental Engineering Services and Urban Circus, the outdoor wear specialist, we are moving one further step closer to making urban traffic safer for VRUs,” Eric Vincelot, Head, Continental Engineering Services (CES) France,  says.