Continental wins two CLEPA Awards

Continental received a 2020 CLEPA Innovation Award from the European Association of Automotive Suppliers for its Body High-Performance Computer (HPC) and Continental Cooperation Portal in the category 'Cooperation'. The technology company's solutions were awarded as pioneering innovation developed in close cooperation with a vehicle manufacturer.

The HPC builds the foundation for fully connected vehicles, as it manages data streams in the vehicle and serves as an intelligent interface to the Internet. As the first Tier One supplier, Continental has brought a Body HPC into series production as the In-Car Application Server for Volkswagen's ID. electric vehicles.

For the development of the HPC, Continental has created a tool that allows for the integration of software from third-parties highly efficiently and according to highest quality requirements - the so-called Continental Cooperation Portal.

Within a new and more centralised architecture design, the Body HPC replaces conventional distributed electronic control units and acts as a central 'electronic brain' to manage data within the vehicle and beyond. The complexity is simplified by bringing classic vehicle functions in one control unit.

Acting as an application server and platform, the Body HPC hosts third-party software. For example, Continental integrates cyber security features from Argus on the platform to protect the connected vehicle from hacker attacks.

Additionally, the Body HPC manages over-the-air software and firmware updates. The HPC lays the foundation for the shift towards service-orientation in vehicles of the future, comfortably and securely.

The Body HPC by Continental was first introduced into series production as the In-Car Application Server (ICAS1) for the Volkswagen ID.3 and will be rolled-out for all models based on Volkswagen's electronic vehicle platform.

Whilst Continental's HPC simplifies the complexity of the electronic architecture of the vehicle, to do so is actually a highly complex task. 

To manage such a complexity, a high degree of collaboration between the customer, Continental and all third parties was needed. Thus, Continental created the Cooperation Portal to improve efficiency and effectiveness of software integration.

Logged in users access encrypted manuals and software libraries so they are constantly up to date on the project activity. Time is saved as software can be pre-validated and pre-integrated by vehicle manufacturers and third-party software suppliers. 

Besides the Body HPC, Continental also received a CLEPA Innovation Award for its Natural 3D Lightfield Centerstack. The display uses the so-called Lightfield nanotechnology and was developed in cooperation with Silicon Valley startup Leia. 

It enables an entirely new 3D user experience for all vehicle occupants at the same time, without the need for glasses or an eye-tracking camera. The Natural 3D Lightfield Centerstack is the first automotive display to combine holographic 3D visualisation with spatial gesture interaction, touch operation and haptic feedback for a most advanced user experience.