What new automotive technologies will the Metaverse bring? Check out the latest technologies from Bosch, Continental, and Valeo

At the 2022 International Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas, several major auto parts companies launched many new products that adapt to the new era. In the face of adapting to the world of the "metaverse", what new technologies have attracted our attention? Let's take a look at the new automotive technologies facing the future.

At the 2022 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held in Las Vegas, Bosch, a leading global technology and service provider, showcased the future of automotive life with a focus on "connected, intelligent, sustainable products and services for a better home and mobility life". First, we will see the Bosch show car representing the future of mobility, which includes automation, connectivity, electrification and personalization. In the future, electric vehicles will become mainstream, and they will be increasingly connected to other road users and their surroundings, while providing drivers with more convenient cloud services, such as checking parking spaces in advance, receiving advance warnings of road traffic accidents ahead, and updating road conditions at all times. The show car fully reflects the professionalism and breadth of Bosch systems in software and hardware. For example, Bosch is developing a central computer dedicated to the future electronic architecture, which integrates various systems such as driving assistance, autonomous driving, vehicle chassis, smart cockpit and body electronics, and continuously improves vehicle functions through OTA updates.

Virtual visor - transparent digital visor will bring more comfort to the driver and front passengers. Traditional visors protect drivers from glaring sunlight, but they also affect the driver's field of vision when they are opened. Bosch has fundamentally solved this problem by replacing the previous physical visor with a new transparent liquid crystal display (LCD). The product monitors the driver's line of sight by connecting to the in-car monitoring camera, and analyzes and calculates through artificial intelligence algorithms, dimming only the sunlight or other light that causes dizziness to the driver, ensuring that the driver's field of vision is unobstructed.

软件定义汽车解决方案——重新定义目前和未来出行的软件解决方案。软件在汽车工程中的支配地位越来越显著。未来的互联化、自动化和个性化功能都将更依赖软件实现。目前全球每年的量产车中搭载着超过2亿个博世自己研发的软件控制单元。博世拥有深厚的软件、电子和系统知识，用于研发特定汽车应用软件和开发硬件设备，以适应各种汽车应用，包括驾驶辅助、信息娱乐和动力总成。博世计划将通用型汽车的基础软件、中间件、云服务以及研发工具整合到其全资子公司易特驰（ETAS）。

To simplify the development of electric vehicles and improve the production efficiency of automakers, Bosch provides pre-integrated components for electric vehicles, such as the Advanced Driving Module (ADM). ADM combines powertrain, braking and steering into an integrated unit, allowing automakers to install it into vehicles faster, more economically and more efficiently. In addition, simplified interfaces and standard software structures ensure that components can be coordinated as flexibly as possible and provide a basis for the installation of new functions.

Technician Process Assistant (TPA) - A digital mechanic is a cross-platform service provider for the connected aftermarket ecosystem. In this system, humans and machines exchange the data needed to efficiently repair and maintain cars. The system does not require hands-free operation, supports cross-platform use, is compatible with tablets, PCs and wearable devices, and can continuously learn and evolve. In addition, with the help of artificial intelligence technology, it can build a knowledge base based on information from traditional repair operations. If more professional advice is still needed, real-time communication can be established between experts and the digital mechanic built into the car, which helps to improve accuracy and efficiency when servicing and repairing today's increasingly complex vehicles.

Bosch is building on the present and shaping the future, constantly improving and expanding its software capabilities. By 2022, all Bosch electronic products will have connectivity. With the establishment of the Bosch Artificial Intelligence Center, Bosch has already possessed strong R&D capabilities in the field of artificial intelligence, creating benefits of approximately 300 million euros. In the future, Bosch's wholly-owned subsidiary ETAS will uniformly develop and sell basic software, middleware, cloud services, and R&D tools for common automobiles. Bosch is also rapidly advancing the development of connectivity and autonomous driving technologies. In the past five years, Bosch's sales in the field of driver assistance systems and related sensors have reached approximately 9 billion euros.

How does a car become a computer on wheels? Vehicle technology is transforming towards fully connected, automated and software-defined cars. Continental is driving this trend by providing a holistic solution based on server architecture, and as the first supplier to achieve mass production of body high-performance computing units (HPC), which are installed on Volkswagen ID. series electric vehicles. Continental not only provides high-performance computing unit platforms for specific domains such as car cockpits, data management, vehicle connectivity, driving safety, dynamic control, and autonomous driving, but also provides modular platform solutions for cross-domain high-performance computing units. Its first cross-domain high-performance computing unit carries the functions and features of the body and vehicle control domains, and will be mass-produced in future electric vehicles of a large Chinese automobile manufacturer.

Thanks to the continuous enhancement of cross-domain functions, Continental's scalable domain controller solutions have enabled its product portfolio of vehicle networking and architecture to continue to expand. The regional control unit (ZCU) is located in the physical area near the sensors and actuators, acting as a communication gateway, providing intelligent power distribution and ensuring the reliable execution of vehicle functions. With Continental's modular platform solutions, automakers can choose the best solution for their future vehicle architecture.

Continental also demonstrated how software and powerful IT infrastructure based on Continental's automotive electronics edge computing platform can enable new functions and change future travel. This modular hardware and software platform connects vehicles to the cloud and provides a variety of options for developing, supplying and maintaining software-intensive system functions. This allows drivers to quickly and easily download and update software and integrate the functions they want during the vehicle's life cycle.

Continental is committed to providing users with an innovative and seamless travel experience. Continental showcased its latest solutions that combine design, innovation and functionality. For example, Continental's ShyTech display, which won the CES Innovation Technology Award, can restore the simplicity of the display and improve car safety without compromising advanced functions. The control panel consisting of buttons, lights and switches is hidden and integrated with the display in a new way. All control options are always at the user's service, but only the required content can be seen. Unlike displaying screens or countless physical buttons directly in front of the driver, Continental's ShyTech display creates a more attractive cockpit design with an elegant appearance similar to wood grain, carbon fiber or leather style. The display can be an A-pillar to A-pillar solution, making full use of the width of the cabin. It can also be used to create new interactive areas for drivers and passengers, which were not previously used for display.

One of the main trends in future car interiors is the ever-larger display screens, but this also means an unprecedented experience for the driver. Continental is showcasing its award-winning switchable private display for the first time at CES, a technology designed to provide entertainment services to front-seat passengers while minimizing distraction to the driver. With this technology, passengers can browse multimedia content, such as watching videos or using the infotainment system, out of the driver's field of view. In private mode, highly directional backlighting makes the content on the display visible only to the passengers. If traffic conditions allow, the display can be switched to shared mode, where both driver and passenger can experience specific content. As entertainment configurations become more common in cars, technologies like view-controlled displays are essential to reduce driver distraction.

Continental, together with its partner AEye, demonstrated the HRL131 long-range LiDAR. The precise perception capability of this LiDAR is key to achieving future autonomous driving. HRL131 is an adaptive LiDAR based on micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) suitable for L3 and L4 autonomous driving solutions. The high-performance LiDAR technology used in HRL31 combines the advantages of high dynamic spatial resolution and long-range detection, providing powerful perception capabilities for high-level autonomous driving of passenger cars and commercial vehicles. HRL131 will be put into production in 2024. Following Continental's automotive-grade short-range LiDAR HFL110, which is now in mass production, HRL131 will become the world's first high-resolution solid-state long-range LiDAR sensor mass-produced in the automotive market.

During CES, Continental presented its sustainable tire concept, the Conti GreenConcept. The premium tire manufacturer's conceptual study uses current and emerging technology approaches to design sustainable tires for passenger cars, becoming another strong proof of Continental's pursuit of sustainable development. The German Continental Conti GreenConcept green concept tire is a comprehensive solution based on the entire value chain of the product. It starts from every link of raw material procurement, product production, product use and product life cycle to minimize resource consumption. To this end, the development engineers and material experts of German Continental Tires focus on three key points in the tire development process - using more than 50% traceable, renewable and recyclable raw materials; developing energy-saving lightweight innovations; using renewable treads to extend the service life of tires. Continental's ambition is to become the most advanced tire company in terms of ecology and social responsibility by 2030. By 2050 at the latest, Continental intends to use 100% sustainably produced materials to produce its tire products and achieve comprehensive climate neutrality in all supply chains.