Continental India forges ties with IITs for research on ADAS

The growing connect between industry and academia is turning stronger. One example is German technology company Continental, which ahs been engaging with top engineering institutions in India for cutting-edge research and to build competencies on niche ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems) functionalities that paves the way towards automated driving.

In the past few years, Continental India has forged partnerships with several academic institutions, including Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT-Delhi), Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-Madras), International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIIT-Bangalore), Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi (IIIT-Delhi), among others, for collaboration in this rapidly evolving technology area.

The technology company is currently conducting advanced research in scenario perception (especially enhancing safety towards pedestrians, bicycles, and animals) with on-road protection from pothole and speed bumps. Typically, an ADAS application amalgamates multiple sensor inputs (radar, camera, and LiDAR) to increase safety and comfort through assistance in driver actions such as monitoring the surroundings, steering, braking, and parking.

The ongoing R&D, immensely aided by deep machine learning and next-generation artificial intelligence, continues to bring in technologies that offer better precision and safety by predicting unforeseen driving scenarios in different road conditions across the globe.

Continental India says its strategic partnerships aim to support three key strategic pillars – technological advancement, creating an industry-ready talent pool, and enabling open innovation in the ecosystem.

According to Praveen Kumar, head of Engineering, Sensorics - ADAS at Continental's Technical Center India (TCI), "India is recognised as a global base for top engineering talent. We actively engage in high-synergy collaborations with leading research institutions in India. Our research programs aim to push the boundaries of what advanced driver-assistant technologies make possible today. We are committed to the belief that more intelligent vehicles lead to safer roads."

The company says while ADAS technologies are still relatively nascent in its adoption in the Indian market, they are gaining increased awareness. Continental India says it is one of the key drivers for the acceptance of ADAS by developing needed technology advances along with helping direct the public and policy discussion towards a safer future for Indian road users.