Continental to Launch “Smart Map” Navigation System

Continental AG will begin supplying its new eHorizon telematics system to an unnamed carmaker later this year or sometime in 2017.

The system, which features high-definition mapping technology, will integrate road data—road signs, stoplights and topography—with vehicle and trip information to maximize efficiency by prompting drivers when to coast, slow down or apply the brakes, company officials tell Automotive News.

In vehicles equipped with automatic stop-start systems, eHorizon can time the engine to restart when a stoplight turns green, before the driver presses the accelerator. The system also can predict a motorist’s destination based on driving patterns and previous trips.

Continental has been developing the technology for several years in partnership with IBM, Cisco and Noika’s former Here digital mapping business. The latter was jointly purchased last year by Audi, BMW and Daimler.

Here’s so-called smart maps can pinpoint a vehicle’s location within a lane and determine the exact height, grade and angle of every hill and curve in the road. In an early version of eHorizon supplied to truckmaker Scania AB in Europe, the technology allowed truckers to optimize gear shifts to reduce fuel consumption by 3%, according to AN.

Similar savings are expected for passenger vehicles. This can be increased another 3%-4% for vehicles with a stop-start system, Continental says.

The supplier demonstrated the technology in a Volkswagen Golf last month at the CES electronics show in Las Vegas. The next step, the company says, is to share information with other connected and self-driving vehicles.