Operating comfort is of paramount concern in modern car design. This includes safeguarding the vehicle as well. With maximum added value in mind, Continental Automotive Systems produces innovative electronic control units for driver authorization systems with access identification and remote control. The core of such concepts are electronic ignition switches. Complex software and coding algorithms ensure an extremely high degree of safety, especially for the driver authorization module. A transmission code identifies the key. When the specific driver authorization is successfully recognized, this releases the steering and automatic transmission lock.

Subsequently further encoded data are transferred to the engine management electronic devices. The communication between the engine and transmission control units is managed per CAN interface in the engine compartment. The vehicle is locked and unlocked via CAN bus in the car's interior. This combination allows for the data exchange between the electronic control units in the passenger compartment and the transmission. Moreover this solution provides the connection to a diagnosis tester, which can check every single control unit (gateway function) via the data bus interfaces in the passenger and engine compartments. The electronic ignition lock also records and evaluates the switching signals in the steering wheel and forwards these as desired. A state-of-the-art technology, which for instance supports the "multifunction steering wheel" with tempomat.