Conti Will Add Mapping Partner for Advanced Nav System

Continental AG confirms to Automotive News that it will add an electronic mapping company to its expanding network of partners to develop next-generation navigation technology for autonomous vehicles.

But the company declines to say whether its new partner will be Google Inc. as reported in August by German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

Christian Senger, who heads Conti's automotive electronics research effort, tells the newspaper the company is developing a system that spots potential hazards before the driver can see them. He says the maps provider will work with IBM and Cisco Systems, who have already partnered with Conti.

Conti wants a provider of precision land maps that can be used to accurately locate a vehicle and the nearby road conditions that might affect it. Maps for each vehicle would be updated by a combination of data supplied via the cloud and from other vehicles in the vicinity.

Senger says IBM's role will be to manage and analyze such data. Cisco is working on how to securely handle data transmissions.

Continental has experimented for years with systems that connect cars in traffic, using traffic data from leading cars to alert those behind them on the road. Such systems can report accidents, road construction, traffic jams and even slippery spots on a roadway with other connected vehicles.