Continental has increased its stake in DigiLens, the California-based development firm for optical waveguide solutions. After investing in the Series C financing round, Continental holds now a stake of 18% in DigiLens and will join the board of directors. The additional investment comes after first prototypes were well received by potential customers of Continental.
Continental Wide Field of View HUD using DigiLens Waveguide Technology: Credit Continental
The press release from Continental stresses the goal to develop wide field of view Head-Up displays for automotive applications. The nanomaterial based waveguide solution from DigiLens allows a wider field of view than current mirror based solutions. In addition this wider field of view is achieved with less space requirements under the dashboard. This will give Continental a big advantage in the automotive HUD market.
This investment comes after an announcement by Continental in February to enter into a formal cooperation with Nvidia about developing self driving systems based on the Nvidia Drive (TM) platform. The press release explains that the cooperation covers a wide range of self driving systems ranging from level 2 to level 5 (no steering wheel and pedals).
Analyst Comment
Continental is a leader in the automotive component market and considering the two investments this year, they certainly plan on remaining in this position for years to come. The also seem to believe that HUDs and self driving technology are important technologies going forward. At least for HUDs this development is already happening. (NH)
Chris tried a system using the Digilens technology at the end of last year. (VR/AR/MR is Alive and Well for Military Training) (BR)
