A groundbreaking collaboration between technology giant Continental and kitchen manufacturer nobilia is presenting a new vision for the kitchen, transforming it from a utilitarian space into an intelligent and responsive living environment. This joint innovation project, set to debut at nobilia’s international exhibition in Verl, harnesses the material science expertise of Continental’s ContiTech group, drawing directly from its advanced work in automotive interiors.

The concept, titled ‘Evolution of Senses’, showcases how functional materials can redefine everyday experiences through comfort, safety and seamless design. The core of this innovation lies in revolutionary translucent surfaces. These specialised materials are light-permeable and serve as a host for printed electronics, enabling an array of hidden functions. This technology allows a kitchen countertop to discreetly incorporate wireless smartphone charging, create specific heating or cooling zones to keep food and drinks at their ideal temperature and feature touch-sensitive control panels. All these elements remain completely invisible when not in use, preserving a clean aesthetic. This principle of surface technology is also demonstrated in a kitchen niche, where a screen is hidden behind a translucent film with a wood-like finish, only appearing when activated.

The commitment to modern living extends to sustainability, with the use of durable and resource-efficient materials. The chairs, for instance, are upholstered in an artificial leather that is composed of over 90 percent bio-based and renewable raw materials, including organically grown cotton.

Further enhancing the kitchen's intelligence are smart AI features, engineered by AUMOVIO Engineering Solutions. Adapted from Continental's automotive technology, these systems can recognise food items, offer recipe recommendations and provide nutritional insights. They also contribute to family safety by issuing alerts for potential hazards like boiling water or objects that might be dangerous for children.

While some of these technologies are production-ready and others are still in the prototype stage, they collectively offer a concrete and exciting preview of the future, where the home environment is both intuitively connected and sustainably crafted.

Ralf Imbery, Head of Design, Marketing and Strategy for Continental’s global surface materials business, said, “For many decades, our materials and technologies have shaped modern living spaces – from vehicle interiors to home furniture. With this concept kitchen, we’re showing how our expertise can be transferred to new requirements: for greater functionality, user-oriented design and technology in everyday life. For us, cooperation projects of this kind are an important strategic tool that allow us to test innovations at an early stage and, together with partners, develop new perspectives for future living environments.”

Florian Degenhardt, Head of Innovation, nobilia, said, “The collaboration with Continental is a real game-changer. It enables us to create intuitive surfaces that respond to the user while at the same time preserving the elegant design of modern kitchens.”

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Continental's Hannover-Stöcken plant is pioneering a new era in sustainable manufacturing by seamlessly integrating advanced robotics into its core operations. Since their deployment in March 2025, a team of seven autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) has become the central nervous system for material transport, fundamentally reshaping the workflow for retreading truck and bus tyres.

This shift to automation has profoundly changed the human role on the production floor. Employees, once tasked with the physically strenuous job of manually moving heavy tyres using cranes and trolleys, are now focused on more cognitively demanding responsibilities. Their expertise is directed towards machine setup, process oversight and meticulous quality control, making their work more ergonomic and skilled.

The AMRs operate with sophisticated independence, navigating the production hall using a fusion of sensors, 360-degree cameras and AI-driven software. They efficiently ferry ‘green’ tyres between critical stages: from the building machine, where fresh rubber is applied, to the curing presses for vulcanisation and finally towards inspection. This automated coordination is digitally linked to the plant's order system, allowing for dynamic routing to optimise workflow and manage capacity.

This initiative is a cornerstone of Continental's global strategy to modernize tyre production through digitalisation and smart automation. The success in Hannover has already inspired the rollout of similar robotic solutions across the company's international network, from North America to Asia. The move aligns perfectly with the plant's sustainable mission, which is the ContiLifeCycle process itself. This process breathes new life into used tyre casings by carefully inspecting them, applying new tread rubber and vulcanising them to create a product that performs like new. The environmental benefit is substantial, as up to 70 percent of the original tyre's material is reused, significantly conserving resources.

The human element was crucial to the project's success. Continental ensured widespread employee acceptance through comprehensive training and even involved the workforce in christening the robots with creative names. This thoughtful approach has cemented the AMRs not as mere machines but as valued teammates in a shared mission to make tyre production more efficient, sustainable and future-ready.

Felix Hantelmann, head of the ContiLifeCycle plant, said, “Self-driving robots have been supporting our production workflow for six months now. They handle simple, repetitive transport tasks such as moving a tyre from one point to another. The robots are directly connected to our digital order system, so they know exactly where to go and how to coordinate with each other to get there. They are a valuable addition to our daily operations and help create a safe, efficient and ergonomically optimised production environment.”

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Continental's leadership in reducing tyre wear is fundamentally driven by its pioneering research into how particles are generated. A pivotal element of this strategy is the recently concluded OLRAP project, a collaboration with the Technical University of Braunschweig that broke new ground in real-world particle analysis. The research team engineered a complex experimental vehicle, outfitting it with a custom vacuum system and sensitive particle sensors. This innovative setup enabled the real-time collection and analysis of airborne particles directly at their source – the rolling tyre – under actual driving conditions. The resulting data, which for the first time correlates specific driving dynamics like aggressive acceleration and hard cornering with particle emissions, provides an unprecedented understanding of wear patterns.

This deep, data-driven insight is what directly fuels Continental's product development. By knowing precisely how and when wear occurs, engineers can make targeted optimisations to tread patterns and rubber compounds. The objective is to systematically design tyres that shed less material, thereby directly reducing their environmental footprint from abrasion. This development process rigorously maintains the critical safety and performance standards that drivers demand.

The tangible success of this research-to-development pipeline is confirmed by independent analysis, which shows Continental tyres abrade 11 percent less material than the competitor average. Furthermore, this proactive research and development strategically prepares the company for upcoming regulations like the Euro 7 standard, which will impose limits on tyre wear emissions. Beyond its own laboratories, Continental extends this commitment through cross-industry efforts, co-chairing the Tire Industry Project and contributing to public initiatives aimed at capturing tyre particles from road runoff. Through this integrated approach, Continental is leveraging fundamental scientific discovery to create more sustainable mobility solutions.

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In a significant step for connected mobility in India, JK Tyre & Industries has launched the nation's first Embedded Smart Tyres designed for passenger vehicles. This innovation, developed entirely in-house and produced at their Banmore plant in Madhya Pradesh, moves tyre technology beyond a passive component to an active, intelligent part of the vehicle. This launch reinforces the company's commitment to the 'Make in India' initiative and establishes a new benchmark for intelligent driving.

The core of this advancement lies in sophisticated sensors that are built directly into the tyre itself during the manufacturing process. Unlike external systems, these embedded sensors provide continuous, real-time monitoring of vital operational data. They track crucial metrics such as internal air pressure, temperature and can even detect potential air leaks. This constant stream of information translates into actionable insights for the driver, which substantially boosts vehicle safety, optimises performance and increases overall driving efficiency.

This new product builds upon JK Tyre's established history with its 'SMART Tyre' technology, an earlier industry-first that integrated Tyre Pressure Monitoring Systems with cloud analytics. The latest embedded version represents a natural evolution, further solidifying the company's role as a pioneer in the mobility sector. Beyond the primary safety benefits, these smart tyres are also engineered to deliver practical advantages for consumers, including a longer tread life and improved fuel economy, which also contributes to a lower environmental impact. Initially, these next-generation tyres will be offered in the aftermarket in sizes from 14 to 17 inches, making this advanced technology accessible to a broad range of car owners.

Dr Raghupati Singhania, Chairman & Managing Director, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd., said, “The launch of our Embedded Smart Tyres marks a defining milestone in JK Tyre’s innovation journey. Backed by our strong R&D and manufacturing capabilities, this achievement reflects our commitment to advancing technology-driven mobility. By integrating intelligence at the very core of performance, we are transforming the way India drives, making mobility smarter, safer and more sustainable. This development is a testament to JK Tyre’s unwavering focus on technological excellence and our vision to lead the future of connected mobility.”

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JK Tyre & Industries Ltd on Monday inaugurated India’s first precision tyre buffing and grinding machine for wet grip testing of worn tyres at the National Automotive Test Tracks (NATRAX) facility in Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh, marking a significant step towards advancing road safety and self-reliance in tyre performance evaluation.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by Dr Raghupati Singhania, Chairman and Managing Director of JK Tyre, and Dr. Manish Jaiswal, Director of NATRAX, along with senior officials from both organisations.

The newly installed equipment complies with ECE R117 regulations, which evaluate a tyre’s wet braking performance when worn to the legal tread depth limit of 1.6 mm. The system allows precise preparation of worn tyre samples across C1 (passenger car), C2 (light commercial) and C3 (heavy truck/bus) categories, enabling comprehensive Wet Grip on Worn Tyre (WGWT) testing at NATRAX.

“With the inauguration of the Precision Tyre Buffing and Grinding Machine (Wet Grip on Worn Tyre) at NATRAX, JK Tyre has taken yet another step forward in advancing tyre testing and safety innovation in India,” said Dr. Raghupati Singhania, Chairman and Managing Director, JK Tyre & Industries. “It reflects our unwavering commitment to innovation, technology leadership, and enhancing vehicular safety through modern engineering and contribution to build world-class testing infrastructure.”

The installation strengthens JK Tyre’s existing testing ecosystem, supporting both homologation and new product development. The company has been associated with NATRAX since 2017, utilising its advanced facilities for vehicle-level testing such as handling, braking, wet grip and noise evaluation.

JK Tyre has also invested in dedicated infrastructure at the NATRAX campus, including two workshops, a skilled technical team, and advanced testing equipment such as a skid trailer, steering robot and noise measurement systems, supported by a fleet of test vehicles.

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