Continental's Face Recognition Now Inside and Outside the Vehicle

Continental is claiming a "world-first" for its revised face authentication vehicle recognition system by placing it both inside and outside the vehicle for dual-stage recognition.

Its technology was first seen at CES 2023 where it earned an Innovation Award but now this two-part driver access control system claims total security for authorized users.

Sensors mounted externally on the vehicle’s B-pillar and invisibly behind the driver display console use the company’s biometric face authentication to open the vehicle and start its drive system as soon as it detects a registered user.

Continental claims the system reliably detects attempted deception using unique "liveness detection" ability from trinamiX, a provider of biometric solutions and a subsidiary of BASF SE.

Once inside the cabin, the hidden display camera checks whether the person in the driver’s seat is authorized to start the vehicle. Other digital services, such as a payment function, also have this feature. The OLED display is adapted so that the optical components can detect people through the pixels of the activated display. In addition, the sensors integrated into the system include driver monitoring to detect signs of inattention and fatigue.

Boris Mergell, head of the user experience business area in Continental Automotive, says: “Transferring our technologies from the interior to the exterior is a logical next step as this allows us to incorporate additional safety aspects and convenience functions. By extending our UX portfolio to the exterior, vehicle manufacturers and end users will benefit in equal measure from intuitive new interaction options.”