Continental acquires KINEXON to develop autonomous mobile robots

Continental has acquired KINEXON's specialist division for on-board operating systems for the intelligent control of autonomous mobile robots (AMR). The core of the acquisition is the "Brain" on-board operating system developed for the precise and networked control of autonomous mobile transport robots, including the IP rights to this market-leading and proven solution.

In addition, the division's development team is moving from KINEXON to Continental. Through this acquisition, Continental is expanding its own depth of value creation, extending its robotics expertise in software and hardware, and thus strengthening its own range of customer solutions for mobile robots. This will enable the company to further accelerate the introduction of new functionalities and the expansion of its product portfolio within robotics for intralogistics. Both companies have agreed not to disclose the purchase price or further details of the transaction.

"With this acquisition, we are enlarging our global development team and strengthening our system expertise in mobile robotics. We can offer robust mobile robot solutions that are proven in operations since years. A one-stop shop for our customers," said Pierre Pomper, head of Continental Mobile Robots

The partnership between KINEXON and Continental will continue after the acquisition of the on-board operating system "Brain" for autonomous driving robots. In the robotics sector, KINEXON will focus in the future on the fast-growing area of centralized control for autonomous driving robots and further expand its software for fleet management.

Continental offers its customers this intelligent fleet management software as an option for controlling the AMRs.

Dr. Alexander Huttenbrink, co-founder and co-CEO of KINEXON said "To meet the trend as well as the increasing demand of our customers, we want to focus 100 percent on our solution in the field of fleet management. The sale of AMR's special division of on-board operating system for mobile robots 'Brain' helps us in this endeavor. We are proud to have developed a leading solution with 'Brain' and the team behind it. With this transaction, we are giving both a new home at Continental with promising prospects."

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