Continental's presence at CES 2025 will be at a private exhibit in Central Plaza, across from the Las Vegas Convention Center, from January 7th to 10th.Continental will showcase its "Intelligent Vehicle Experience Car" at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2025 in Las Vegas, starting January 7. The car demonstrates biometric technologies enabling touch-free vehicle access, personalised interaction, and enhanced security, features expected to reach production in three to five years. The demonstration focuses on external human-vehicle communication, including recognising authorised users and detecting potential threats. Continental highlights how these innovations contribute to the software-defined vehicle and enhance user experience.
Continental's CES 2025
Continental's CES 2025 exhibit features a specially designed vehicle demonstrating near-future mobility solutions. These technologies focus on biometric interaction between drivers and their vehicles. The car recognises users through facial and movement characteristics, enabling actions like automatic unlocking, starting, and tailgate opening. The system also identifies unauthorised individuals and activates security measures. Continental positions this technology as a key element of the software-defined vehicle and the future of automotive biometrics.
Continental's presence at CES 2025 will be at a private exhibit in Central Plaza, across from the Las Vegas Convention Center, from January 7th to 10th. The company will showcase its latest mobility innovations, spanning from road to cloud technologies.
The demonstration at CES, a leading technology trade show, emphasises external communication between humans and cars. A core aspect is intuitive, touch-free access using biometrics. The vehicle identifies authorized users before they enter, interpreting their facial and movement characteristics to trigger specific actions. Examples include unlocking and starting the car and proactively opening the tailgate. The system also detects unauthorized individuals approaching the vehicle and prevents access.
The rapid evolution of auto technology
The automobile is rapidly transforming into a software-defined vehicle. An increasing number of functions are software-based. A harmonious, intuitive interaction with the vehicle is essential for a positive user experience. This includes user well-being, comfort, and safety, and is especially important as functionalities, technologies, and assistance systems become more complex.
Human Machine Interfaces (HMI) are crucial for the success of current and future mobility concepts. HMI facilitates intuitive interaction between users and vehicles. The user experience begins upon approaching the vehicle, with exterior HMI providing audio and visual feedback to confirm vehicle status and manage user interaction. Continental's intelligent vehicle focuses on this initial interaction, leveraging biometric recognition similar to facial recognition used in smartphone apps.
The familiarity of such user experiences in other contexts sets customer expectations for similar convenience in premium products like cars. However, Continental aims to go beyond existing smartphone technology, anticipating user intentions, understanding context, and personalising interaction.
“The car is on track to become a smart device, similar to a cell phone, which will use biometric technologies to take the user experience to a new level of security and comfort,” explains Jean-François Tarabbia, Head of Architecture and Network Solutions at Continental.
Usage of biometrics
Biometrics allows for a wide range of functions within the vehicle-user relationship. Continental's demo car demonstrates several key functions. These include approach detection, user identification via facial recognition, intention recognition through movement interpretation, and intuitive trunk access. The latter is currently triggered by a slight kick towards the rear bumper, with future iterations envisioned to rely solely on visual cues.
Continental combines existing artificial intelligence algorithms and vehicle sensors for these functions. The CoSmA system, for example, utilises 360-degree cameras for parking functionalities and ultra-wideband radar sensors. These technologies work together to detect and identify people, demonstrating practical and proven technologies. Continental continues to develop these features to meet evolving user demands and expectations.
“Biometrics opens up completely new horizons for the mobility of tomorrow,” said Dr. Claudio Longo, Head of Research and Advanced Engineering at Continental, underscores the company's view of biometrics' transformative potential in future mobility. The company believes that human-machine interaction is crucial for a positive user experience. Future vehicles will interact with users even before they enter, interpreting intentions, movements, and facial expressions.
Demo car
The demo car addresses challenges like personal data protection and energy consumption management. A secure cloud connection enables over-the-air integration of new intelligent functions throughout the vehicle's lifecycle. This allows the vehicle’s software and functionality to be continually updated and improved. This approach ensures that the vehicle remains at the cutting edge of technology throughout its operational life.
