Continental Unveils Transparent Infotainment Display with Swarovski Crystals

Automotive supplier Continental this week unveiled the world's first in-car display screen made from transparent Swarovski crystals. [Continental's crystal product is a 10.0-inch screen developed in collaboration with Austrian company Swarovski, which, through its Swarovski Mobility division, supplies crystals to the automotive industry as components for interior trim and headlights in luxury vehicles.

The images are created using thin LED panels suspended within a crystal display housing. This results in a frameless, freestanding screen with the same faceted edges as other Swarovski crystal products, and provides higher brightness and better contrast than other technologies, Continental said in a press release.

The crystals are tinted, but the driver and passengers can see straight from the edge of the screen to the dashboard behind it. Continental also claims that the product is a true automotive grade product that "meets the optical and technical challenges of in-vehicle use. [Continental and Swarovski did not mention specific production plans for the crystal display. However, there is no doubt that it will fit well into the interiors of luxury cars.

In addition to the crystal display, Continental demonstrated at CES 2024 a facial recognition system that could be integrated into in-car infotainment screens. The company also announced progress in its collaboration with Aurora Innovation on self-driving trucks. The two companies announced that they have finalized the hardware design for an SAE Level 4 autonomous driving system that Continental plans to begin production in 2027.