Whether hands-free or by phone: we take out fewer and fewer keys to unlock our vehicle. But why not do without it altogether?
facial recognition
This is the experiment carried out by Continental, with a prototype presented at the CES in Las Vegas. A Renault Mégane E-Tech serves as a demonstrator of a facial recognition system: as if by magic, the car opens when its owner approaches.
“We wanted this facial recognition to be done seamlessly, you don’t have to stop, not even a few seconds, for it to work,” explains Benjamin Dubois, innovation project manager at Continental.
The handle opens like this as he naturally moves towards the door. A handle that comes out of the body in the Mégane, but for models where the unlocking is less visible, Continental has also added a luminous screen on the pillar, which allows you to quickly see the status of the car, open or closed.
And it is not about fooling the system with a simple printed photo, which will not cause the opening as we saw during this presentation.
New features for 360 cameras
In this Mégane prototype, Continental added cameras to gain definition and image angles for its system to work. But the idea would above all be to be able to take advantage of the cameras already existing in a vehicle, particularly those that have a 360° view. Enough to finally offer this type of options through an update, that is, a purely software modification.
An experience that is also intended to be customizable: for example, you may not necessarily want your car to always open when you approach it. Then we can ask, in addition to facial recognition, to perform a certain gesture, which will allow this unlocking. Effective example because it is quite natural to choose in this demonstrator: a hand extended towards the handle activates the opening.
The same logic can be applied to opening the trunk: you have to stare at it for a few seconds for it to open. This could also be the first feature actually implemented by car brands interested in this innovation.
“Today it is a concept within our innovation department, but we are already working with our product teams to anticipate the implementation roadmap, in particular on this trunk opening with a large number of cars “now equipped with a reversing camera”. explains Benjamin Dubois.
Metered consumption and privacy
“Intuitive” access that could thus replace opening the trunk by passing your foot under the vehicle, already present in the Continental catalog and offered by several brands.
Another important point: these new camera missions should not involve excessive energy consumption. Therefore, Continental chose to first activate the radars, which detect a presence around the vehicle to activate the desired camera during an approach.
Permanent “surveillance” around the vehicle that must also respect privacy regulations.
“Personal data is not stored, it is encrypted in the car, nothing is sent to the cloud with all the analyzes carried out on the vehicle’s on-board computer,” insists Benjamin Dubois.
Finally, lens cleaning systems must allow operation regardless of weather conditions and even a chamber that is heated to melt snow or ice.
Source: BFM TV
