Digital manufacturing and safety is changing the future of driving
When it comes to manufacturing – particularly for cars – new components often take a large amount of time to make, usually requiring long periods of preparation before they get anywhere near the factory floor. During the development of a car, billions or euros can be spent on the process, from beginning to end. This is reflected in the price Irish drivers have to pay in the showroom.
At Continental, development is a never ending, continual process – one might even say obsession. The future of manufacturing is studied and researched to evolve and improve the capabilities of next-generation products and components. It’s a German thing.
And although they’re best known by Irish motorists for their unrivalled, award winning premium tyres, Continental is in fact a renowned supplier of many other technologies and solutions to the automotive industry, including brake systems, electronics, displays, and automotive safety. They provide world-leading expertise too many of the automotive marques drivers in Ireland are all to familiar with, including Mercedes-Benz, VW, Audi and Porsche – to name just a few.
To assist in the production methods of the future, digital manufacturing and AI – Artificial Intelligence – have also been extensively invested in and researched by the firm. Why? Because digital will change everything, including when it comes to your car.
Manufacturing in digital is the future
Digital manufacturing employs highly advanced computing in the process of modelling, testing and making new machines and components. In this modern form of production, the computing and building aspects of this process work in synchronisation. This allows for testing, simulation and 3D modelling to take place alongside the actual process of construction. This results in better product development efficiency, improvements, and optimisation.
This technology requires a lot of work with software, and as a result Continental are one of the largest employers of software engineers in Europe, with 14,000 employed in the company’s automotive division. But these boffins don’t just work on the digital manufacturing process; they also work on a number of other important advancements, including digital connectivity and data gathering.
Digital is improving automotive safety
In todays vehicles, a vast array of sensors, cameras and other active safety technologies combine to provide drivers with cars that have never been safer. This is great for Irish motorists, but it doesn’t mean these improvements can’t be bettered further.
How? Imagine, for a moment, that you’re driving behind a slow-moving truck. We’ve all been there, and know how frustrating it can be. You want to overtake it, but the truck is hard to see past, due to its size. Attempting to do so ‘blind’ may be dangerous, so what are you to do? At Continental, they’re working on a solution to this using augmented reality.
Also known as ‘AR’, this is a very exciting new technology which will empower us all to improve on what we see. Using live-streamed information from a suite of sensors and data sources, as well as an advanced head-up display (HUD), Irish drivers may well be able to ‘see’ right through the truck, to perceive the road ahead. ‘Perceive’ is the right word here, too. You won’t be ‘seeing’ the road exactly; instead, you’ll have a live image of the road ahead projected onto your windscreen, allowing you a view of the road that could enable you to make a judgement on whether it is safe to pass or not.
The future of reality is digital
With the advancements being made in augmented reality, the way we perceive our environment in the future is sure to change. Navigational instructions may well float in the air in front of us and updates on the status of our car and road networks may pop up directly in our line of sight. It is a fascinating piece of technology that promises to lead to some remarkable experiences for Irish drivers and passengers in the vehicles of tomorrow.
BestDrive by Continental – You drive, we care.