AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Continental’s Chassis & Safety division has established a new Passive Safety & Sensorics (PSS) business unit. This new unit has been established in response to the market trend of inertial sensors being integrated into airbag control units across a majority of vehicle platforms by 2016 to support ESC functionality.
 
The global PSS business unit, which will be globally headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, improves Continental’s ability to address customer needs. Additionally, the company says this move establishes Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) as a stand-alone business unit, focusing on creating innovative technologies that meet continued customer demand for advanced safety solutions.  
 
Dr. Bernhard Klumpp will lead the PSS business unit globally, and Amit Kapoor will head the PSS business unit in NAFTA. Friedrich Angerbauer takes over as head of the ADAS business unit globally, and Christian Schumacher, formerly Continental NAFTA director of engineering, systems and technology, will lead the NAFTA ADAS business unit.  
 
The creation of the PSS business unit combines the expertise and strengths of the Inertial Sensors and Occupant Safety segments to promote continued growth of market share through technological synergies for the company. Continental is one of the top-three North American suppliers of inertial sensors in stand-alone cluster, ESC-integrated configurations, as well as airbag control units. The combined segments consolidate some diverse technical activities and Continental says it will continue to offer independent sensing capabilities to customers as well.
 
 
Continental’s Advanced Driver Assistance Systems include: Adaptive Cruise Control, Blind Spot Detection, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Emergency Brake Assist, Lane Departure Warning, Lane Keeping Support, Lane Change Assist, Intelligent Headlamp Control or Traffic Sign Recognition.