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During recent years, all major North American and European commercial vehicle OEMs have introduced predictive functionalities based on an electronic horizon for their on-highway fleets. This is a system concept that lets vehicles know what is happening on the road ahead and allows them to react to that information without driver involvement. When an electronic horizon is used in heavy-duty trucks, a significant reduction in fuel consumption is possible as a key application. This is achieved by optimizing the algorithms in the engine control unit, the transmission control device or other control units in the vehicle. There is a clear business case for the vehicle owners. In this paper we review the long development from early navigation technologies to an in-vehicle sensor, called an electronic horizon. We present an overview of different architectures from several perspectives as well as multiple use cases for commercial vehicles.

A concept presented in this talk describes a preview of the digital map which can be used by other vehicle systems. The eHorizon Box (for electronic horizon) constantly sends small data packages via the vehicles data network (CAN bus). These packages contain information about the stretch of road ahead as well as topographic information. With this information, the engine control unit, the transmission control device or the driver assistance systems can optimize their respective functions. When eHorizon is used in commercial vehicles and passenger cars, Continental expects a reduction in fuel consumption, greater traffic safety and enhanced ride comfort. The eHorizon has numerous possible applications. Current engine management functions primarily use the available sensor data of the vehicle and for sure the individual driver impact. Based upon eHorizon's digital map data, the stretch of road ahead and its topography can be integrated in the strategy of the engine management.