August 23, 2023 - Continental makes convenient and secure digital vehicle access available to the Asian markets: The company has received the first two business wins from major Chinese and Japanese vehicle manufacturers for its
CoSmA Utrawide-band (UWB) system, launching in vehicles over the coming years.
With its latest generation for smartphone-based vehicle access, Continental enables hands-free vehicle access in the same way users are familiar with conventional PASE systems. Drivers do not have to take their phone out of their pocket any longer. Thanks to the precise localization capabilities of UWB, Continental’s system knows exactly where the smartphone is and unlocks the vehicle automatically when the driver comes close. Additionally, UWB also offers strong protection against car theft via so-called relay attacks (man-in-the-middle). Vehicle thieves are no longer able to intercept and extend the key signal in order to gain access. Further to this, vehicle owners can now create and manage multiple digital keys at the same time and do not have to pass on a physical key. The generated vehicle key can be conveniently shared with family members and friends via the digital access authorization.
The vehicle manufacturers especially honored the maturity of Continental’s system, which was the first smartphone-based access system based on UWB on the market. With its global expertise Continental is able to adapt its system to local requirements and include market-specific standards for example from the Car Connectivity Consortium and the Intelligent Car Connectivity Industry Ecosystem Alliance.
And there's more: Continentals is already developing the next step and is using the UWB Technology to save lives. As a radar UWB can detect left-behind children in a vehicle and trigger a warning to the driver or bystanders. For example, when outdoor temperatures reach 30 degrees Celsius, in-car temperatures can reach up to 45 degrees within half an hour. This has the potential to be life-threatening for young children. With Continental’s system, vehicle manufacturers can prevent such tragedies without the need to install additional hardware.
