Continental-Carnegie Collaboration: Making Driving Safer, More Reliable and Even More Fun

Continental AG, the German automotive manufacturing company, held their annual four-day media event last week where hundreds of reporters from all over the world converged in Hanover, Germany as Continental showcased their awesome new technology offerings for the coming year and beyond.  One of the highlights of the event was the announcement that they are integrating Carnegie Technologies’ Network Convergence Platform into Continental’s Smart Telematics portfolio for vehicle manufacturers. The solution runs on Continental’s next generation telematics control unit (TCU) with a supporting cloud-based component for analytics and diagnostics.  

The joint Smart Telematics solution continuously scans and measures available networks and the vehicle’s bandwidth requirements, and then automatically aggregates the networks to provide the fastest, most reliable and cost-efficient connection.  This kind of network aggregation is required for a wide range of services that auto manufacturers need, including customer relationship management, geolocation, geofencing, remote vehicle access, diagnostics, fleet management, over the air (OTA) vehicle updates and even autonomous driving capabilities.  While Continental is collaborating with other companies, including BMW, Intel, Mobileye, Inmarsat and more, Carnegie’s technologies offer the missing link that bundles all the networks together to allow these services to get the data packages to and from the cloud and the car reliably and efficiently.

Bandwidth Aggregation and Gapless Handover from Carnegie are essential parts of ensuring that a vehicle has uninterrupted network connectivity as it travels along the roadways.  By combining all the different types of networks the vehicle encounters along its journey, including LTE, Wi-Fi, 4G, satellite and more, not only is the connectivity much more reliable, but the cost efficiencies can be great, especially when data can be offloaded to municipal and other open Wi-Fi networks. 

Not only is bandwidth aggregation used for vehicle functionality, it can also make the drive more comfortable for the passengers as well, ensuring faster and more reliable smart device connectivity for video streaming, web surfing, and even just phone calls.  We all know the frustration of driving through rural areas and losing connection – even when we drive right past a communications tower.   The collaboration between Continental and Carnegie means finding and connecting those LTE, Wi-Fi or satellite networks to ensure no gaps or data loss.  That means less problems and even less crying from the back seat!

We anticipate exciting auto industry developments through this best-in-class combination of technology powerhouses, and we’re proud to be the connecting player in it all.   Stay tuned for updates and come see Continental’s next generation telematics and connectivity portfolio, featuring Carnegie’s Network Convergence Platform, at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.