• Continental has acquired the Hi-Res 3D Flash LIDAR business from Advanced Scientific Concepts
  • Acquisition will further enhance the company’s Advanced Driver Assistance Systems product portfolio towards achieve fully automated driving
  • The technology provides real-time machine vision as well as environmental mapping functions

International automotive supplier Continental has announced the acquisition of the Hi-Res 3D Flash LIDAR business from Advanced Scientific Concepts.

The acquisition will further enhance the company’s Advanced Driver Assistance Systems product portfolio which aims to achieve fully automated driving.

The Hi-Res 3D Flash LIDAR sensor technology provides both real-time machine vision as well as environmental mapping functions. This technology will help to enable a significantly more detailed and accurate field of vision around the entire vehicle, independent of day or night time and robust in adverse weather conditions.

Continental is working on a family of sensors to address different requirements around the vehicle.

“A range of surrounding sensors is needed to progress safely to the higher levels of automated driving.”

Said Karl Haupt, Executive Vice President, Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) Business Unit and Member of the Management Board, Chassis & Safety Division.

“We have strong and proven capabilities with radar and camera as well as data fusion. However, it is important to have Hi-Res 3D Flash LIDAR in our technology portfolio to further strengthen and enhance our leadership position in the development of automated driving.”

Frank Jourdan, Member of the Executive Board of Continental AG and President of the Chassis & Safety Division, said: “At Continental, we continue to invest in research and development for next generation technologies – such as automated driving – that will drive us toward a safer, more efficient and more comfortable future.

“As a company, Continental’s strategy is clearly focused on making this type of future technology a reality. 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,” he added.

In December, 2012, Continental was the first automotive supplier to earn approval from the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to test autonomous vehicles on the state’s public roads.

The company has completed approximately more than 72,000 miles of testing in highly automated driving mode, accompanied by a test engineer monitoring the vehicle’s performance. In addition to the U.S. and Germany, Continental also started an Automated Driving initiative in Japan.