Changan has become the first car manufacturer to put Continental’s MK 120 ESC – an electronic brake system for Electronic Stability Control (ESC) in passenger cars – into series production. The Chinese car maker is equipping its latest Oshan X5 Plus and Uni-T models (available in the Chinese market) with the brake system. A further start of production is planned with a European car manufacturer during 2023.
MK 120 ESC is the latest generation of Continental’s conventional electronic brake system, which the company says is efficient, offers cyber security features and over-the-air (OTA) functionality, and can be easily installed in a vehicle. Compared to the previous-generation system, the design of the valve block, solenoid valve, pump and motor on the MK 120 ESC has been optimised, and Continental claims it is around 5% lighter and 7% smaller, while retaining the same performance. The MK 120 ESC is first being produced at Continental’s facility in Shanghai, China, with further production locations in Europe, Japan and India due to follow.
Individual security key
Continental’s MK 120 ESC electronic brake system
With the development of assisted and automated driving, the scope of vehicle safety has expanded from functional safety to cyber security. An embedded hardware security module has been adopted for the MK 120 ESC, in line with the requirements for cyber security in the global industry.
The brake system contains cryptographic functions that can be used to introduce security keys. These keys are generated individually for each product, which means that even if one car is hacked, a second one is still protected. The MK 120 ESC can also realise other customised information security functions, such as secure boot, data security protection and communication security protection.
The MK 120 ESC supports AUTOSAR-based software and multi-channel controller area networks with flexible data rate communication, preparing for the trend from a distributed to service-oriented, centralised vehicle system architecture.
