Continental and 3M partner to develop technology for safer roadways

The partnership, which will further develop infrastructure-to-vehicle (I2V) interfaces, will help increase road safety for all road users and support the development of automated driving.

Frankfurt (Germany), October 15, 2019

German technology company Continental has entered into a collaborative evaluation partnership with 3M to assess the infrastructure-to-vehicle (I2V) interface between infrastructure-related objects and technologies (including pavement markings, conspicuity film, signs and other landmarks on or near the roadway environment), and vehicle-related technologies.

Today’s current infrastructure is lacking some aspects of consistency, uniformity, performance specifications, and maintenance standards that are important for the industry to optimise the perception and localisation capabilities of automated vehicles. While it is clear that infrastructure optimised solutions are not possible in the short term, our long-term goal is to find a more balanced solution.

Continental has a long history in automotive safety systems. This extensive know-how, combined with 3M’s innovative expertise and leadership in roadway technologies, enables the two companies to collaborate on improving the current transportation infrastructure and work toward the goal of a more balanced and intelligent infrastructure optimised future solution. The short-term goal is to help increase road safety while continuing to work toward automated driving solutions.

“A major focus at Continental is to ensure our vehicle technology is able to accurately, efficiently and effectively communicate with cities and road infrastructure. We are excited to partner with 3M to collaborate on improving overall road infrastructure technology to help increase safety and awareness of the environments and obstacles we drive through daily,” said Ralph Lauxmann, Head of Systems & Technology at Continental's Chassis & Safety Division.

Continental and 3M will collaboratively evaluate the infrastructure and vehicle interface in the following ways: localisation and correction services using clear environmental landmarks for locating a vehicle on a high-definition map; identification and classification of objects in urban roadway environments including urban cross-walks, signalised intersections and other stationary and moving objects to improve safety; improved awareness of objects in and around work zones and the status of the work zones; and enhanced object detection using sensor fusion detectable infrastructure-related objects.

Dr Daniel Chen, Vice President and General Manager, 3M Transportation Safety Division, added, “Infrastructure plays a critical role in the safety of all road users including vehicles with or without automated technologies, and vulnerable road users. At 3M, we are dedicated to improving transportation infrastructure and mobility so all road users can arrive at their destinations safely. Our mission of road safety is proving to be more important as modes of mobility are changing and advancing. We are excited to collaborate with Continental on exploring infrastructure solutions that will help governments achieve their vision zero goals.”