Continental’s Future Is Already Underway
Those of you who read our blog frequently will already know that Continental goes far beyond tires, for those of you who don’t, let us bring you up to speed. Within the company there is a very important department that develops electronics and safety systems for motorcycles. Within the motorcycle division, there are sub-departments working on various safety, intelligence and efficient mobility technologies. Their latest work? Developing a complete hardware and software platform for permanent connectivity on motorcycles.
It was at the EICMA in Milan that Continental presented for the first time to the public the Connected Infotainment Box. This boom created by Continental will allow motorcycle manufacturers to offer users the use of digital services such as turn-by-turn navigation and stolen vehicle tracking, without connection to a smartphone.
Direct connection of the vehicle to the Internet is standard in the latest luxury and midrange cars, but still something never seen in motorcycles. This allows drivers to connect faster and save data volume and battery life on their smartphones. Continental has designed a complex combination of different hardware components that enables the connection to the cloud, so that a motorcycle can also host the telematics module. According to the developers, adapting this innovation to all types of motorcycles (not just high-end ones) will be much simpler than in cars.
Among the services being developed are direct smartphone-independent rider-to-rider communication, updates, stolen vehicle tracking, emergency calls… . “The Connected Infotainment Box could make this technically possible today without any problems, as connectivity is available at all times,” explains Patric Zimmermann, product manager responsible for motorcycle connectivity at Continental.
“We are well on our way to bridging the gap between motorcycles and the Internet, without having to rely on smartphones. This is the first step towards making motorcycles ‘always connected’, making mobility on two wheels truly smart and significantly increasing safety and ride comfort” says Harry Krickl, Sales Director, Motorcycles & Off-Highway in Continental’s Commercial & Specialty Vehicles business segment.
Which brand/bike will be the first to apply this system? We don’t know yet, but let’s hope it will be soon!
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