U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced that Continental Automotive has become a partner in the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT)’s Smart City Challenge. The Smart City Challenge is a competition which will create a fully integrated, first-of-its-kind city that uses data, technology and creativity to shape how people and goods move in the future. Under the partnership, Continental will offer the winning city $1 million worth of hardware and labor for the deployment of “smart intersection” systems. This revolutionary vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology will help the winning city define what it means to be a “Smart City” and fully integrate innovative technologies.
As part of its commitment, Continental will provide advanced sensing, vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication technology to increase traffic safety at intersections and provide a platform for intelligent transportation systems of the future. The Smart City Challenge winner will be the country’s first city to fully integrate innovative technologies such as self-driving cars, connected vehicles and smart sensors into their transportation network. This partnership further demonstrates that connected vehicle technology and its safety, mobility and environmental benefits are ready for deployment.
U.S. DOT has been working with each finalist city to connect them with private, public and non-profit partnerships that support their final proposals with technical assistance. In addition to Continental, other partners that have joined the Smart City Challenge include: launch partner Paul G. Allen’s Vulcan Inc., cloud partner Amazon Web Services, Mobileye, Autodesk, Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs, NXP, AT&T and DC Solar.
“This competition has transformed major U.S. cities into critically needed laboratories of innovation with the potential to solve transportation challenges that prioritize safety, innovation and equity that exist nationwide,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Foxx. “By fostering creative collaboration, this announcement and the existing precedent-setting public-private partnerships will strengthen the winning city’s ability to bring their bold visions to life.”
"At Continental, safety is at the cornerstone of everything that we do. That is why we are proud to join the U.S. DOT’s national Smart City Challenge as a key provider of active safety technology and secure connectivity to help advance the development of future mobility services such as automated driving infrastructure solutions, Intelligent Transportation Systems and V2X technology,” said Samir Salman, CEO of Continental North America. “The Smart City Challenge aligns with our company’s mission of Vision Zero, which is our goal to globally eliminate traffic and road fatalities, making mobility safer, more convenient and more efficient for everyone.”
The Smart City Challenge was launched by Secretary Foxx in December 2015 in response to the trends identified in the Beyond Traffic draft report. The report, issued last year, revealed that our nation’s aging infrastructure is not equipped to deal with a dramatically growing population in regions throughout the country. It also identified a need to increase mobility options in developing megaregions – specifically mid-sized cities.
