BMW at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2017 in Las Vegas.

BMW at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2017 in Las Vegas.

Summary:

 

BMW is shaping the future of mobility and the way we experience it
through ongoing development projects and technically revolutionary
innovations in automated driving, intelligent connectivity and
interior design. At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2017, taking
place in Las Vegas on 5 – 8 January 2017, the German premium car maker
will present a wide range of new products and services which are set
to headline this radical change in the very near future. It will also
be revealing a vision of an interior whose architecture and user
interface are extensively adapted for fully automated driving on board
a vehicle that is seamlessly integrated into the driver’s digital
life. The innovations BMW is presenting at the CES show in design,
technology and functionality emphasise the company’s leading role over
many years – through its ConnectedDrive programme – in the field of
connected driving.

 

BMW’s pioneering advances in the areas of automated driving,
intelligent connectivity and control and display systems are closely
interconnected. The company offers highly innovative systems and
technologies in all these areas. Examples include the driver
assistance systems available for the brand’s current model range, the
BMW Connected digital mobility companion and intuitive and flexible
control and display systems such as the Head-Up Display, BMW iDrive,
voice control and BMW gesture control. Such technologies provide an
ideal platform for innovations aimed at delivering a futuristic
mobility experience defined by hallmark BMW characteristics.

 

Steady progress towards automated driving is reducing driver stress
and offering drivers a new degree of freedom in how they use their
time in the car. At the same time, intelligent connectivity between
vehicles, drivers and the outside world is creating new scope for
efficient, creative and stimulating use of this freed-up time. At the
CES 2017 show, BMW will be showcasing the potential of connected
mobility with demonstration drives in a prototype based on the new BMW
5 Series Sedan. This will provide an opportunity to experience
innovative digital services underpinned by BMW Connected and the
flexible Open Mobility Cloud platform. BMW will also present the
BMW Connected Window – its vision for an innovative digital touchpoint
highlighting the breadth of possible applications for BMW Connected
services not only in the car but also in the home. Looking into the
future of interior design, the focus will be on innovative display and
control technology. The BMW i Inside Future sculpture at the CES show
will showcase BMW HoloActive Touch, which marks a new dimension in how
drivers select and control vehicle, navigation, infotainment and
communication functions.

 

The future of personalised driving.

Demonstration drives in the BMW 5 Series Sedan-based prototype
will shine the spotlight on a personalised, connected driving
experience in a highly automated vehicle. A variety of technical
modifications to support automated driving, based on the research
development projects of autonomous driving, have been
incorporated into the new BMW 5 Series for the purposes of the
demonstrations. On specific route segments, drivers can hand over
both longitudinal control tasks and lateral control to the
assistance systems, which frees them up to concentrate on other
activities. The sensor and control technology that makes it possible
for drivers not only to delegate acceleration and braking to the
vehicle but also to take their hands off the steering wheel for long
periods at a stretch is based on a further-refined prototype
solution based on the driver assistance systems already fitted in
today’s production vehicles. This is another reminder of the high
quality and potential of the technology already deployed in current
BMW models.

 

From vision (CES 2016) to product (2017): the BMW Connected
personal digital mobility companion.

With ConnectedDrive, BMW was an early pioneer in enabling extensive
in-car access to online infotainment and communication functions. In
spring 2016, BMW went on to provide a digital platform – in the shape
of BMW Connected – which customers can access not only in their BMW
but also on a wide range of devices outside the vehicle. This allows
mobility planning to be seamlessly integrated into users’ digital
lifestyles, supporting them both on the road and in other areas of
their daily lives. The concept of BMW Connected and the Open Mobility
Cloud was first presented at CES 2016. The market launch in the USA
took place soon after, in March 2016. BMW Connected has been available
in Europe since August 2016, and China followed suit in the fourth
quarter of 2016.

 

A further system presented by BMW at last year’s CES and likewise
brought to market in record-quick time is the research application
Remote 3D View. By combining the Surround View driver assistance
system with BMW Connected connectivity features, this system allows a
three-dimensional view of the vehicle and its surroundings to be
transmitted via a mobile data connection to the driver’s smartphone.
The service, which allows drivers to keep their eye on their parked
vehicle at any time, regardless of their location, will make its
production model debut in February 2017 on board the new BMW 5 Series Sedan.

 

Intelligent connectivity.

BMW Connected turns the vehicle and mobile devices into touchpoints
for the Open Mobility Cloud. At CES 2017, BMW will be showcasing
digital services that will allow drivers of future automated vehicles
to optimise the way they plan their daily lives. One such feature will
enable drivers to access wide-ranging information about places or
buildings they see along their route. The information can be selected
using BMW Augmented Gesture Control – a new form of gesture control –
by pointing at a particular building, for example. The connected
driving experience will also be enhanced by intelligent voice control.
BMW Connected demos will feature a visionary concept of an in-car
voice-controlled personal digital assistant that customers are
familiar with in other areas of their daily life. The system being
presented at CES 2017 is the in-car application of Microsoft’s
Cortana. This means that the voice-controlled capabilities already
offered by Microsoft Cortana on a home PC could or smartphone in
future also be available on board a BMW. For example, BMW Connected
can provide a reminder en-route of an upcoming appointment for which
no location has yet been fixed. And Cortana can be used to make a
suitable restaurant recommendation and reserve a table.

 

Another service possible with future versions of BMW Connected is
delivery of tens of thousands of goods while the customer is on the
road. Amazon Prime Now, which is integrated into all the user’s
devices (both in and outside the vehicle) via the Open Mobility Cloud,
enables goods to be ordered through the app while drivers are on the
way to their next destination. The En-Route Delivery service will be
presented at CES 2017 in conjunction with Amazon Prime Now.

 

A further example of this collaboration with Amazon Prime Now is BMW
Passenger Mode. Based on the selected route, BMW Connected can tell
when the vehicle will switch to automated driving and the driver could
have time, say, to use Amazon Prime Video. In Passenger Mode, the
vehicle can then adapt to the passengers’ needs in different
situations. For instance, when rear-seat passengers start playing a
video, the interior lighting is immediately dimmed and the sunblinds closed.

 

Innovative control and display technologies.

The BMW i Inside Future sculpture at CES 2017 focuses on the
opportunities and challenges presented by fully automated driving.
What will we be able to do in an interior of the future? What kind of
experience will a car journey offer? BMW i Inside Future shows there
will be no conflict between personalisation and sharing in the car of
the future. It also showcases BMW HoloActive Touch, BMW’s latest take
on the future of in-car control and display technology.

 

BMW HoloActive Touch is the latest chapter in a story that began with
BMW iDrive. That system, which was revolutionary when first introduced
and was subsequently imitated throughout the automotive industry, was
both a substitute for and a complement to conventional switches and buttons.

 

With the Air Touch system, featured at CES 2016 in the BMW i Vision
Future Interaction concept car, BMW presented a panoramic display that
can be operated just like a touchscreen – except that there is no
actual contact involved. Now this system has been taken a stage
further with BMW HoloActive Touch. BMW HoloActive Touch fuses the
advantages of the BMW Head-Up Display, BMW gesture control and
intuitive touchscreen functionality with revolutionary technology to
create a completely new kind of user interface for the vehicle
interior of the future. This innovative interface between the driver
and vehicle consists of a free-floating virtual display which is
projected in the area above the centre console. The system is operated
directly by finger movements, while an ultrasound source provides
tactile confirmation of the driver’s commands. That said, in neither
case is there ever any actual contact between the driver and the user interface.

 

BMW Connected Window: a digital touchpoint.

The continuously expanding functionality of BMW Connected is based on
the idea that the move towards ever-increasing digitalisation, whether
on the move or in the home, is set to promote the extensive yet at the
same time precisely personalised link-up of every area of our lives.
Using the Open Mobility Cloud, BMW Connected will be seamlessly
integrated into multiple digital touchpoints. At CES 2017 BMW will be
presenting the BMW Connected Window vision to illustrate the
possibilities these developments offer for a personalised and
intelligent enhancement of digital lifestyles. The BMW Connected
Window integrates every type of information relevant for daily
mobility planning. Using the Open Mobility Cloud, this virtual window
offers digital functions to support personal daily planning and
numerous other aspects of individual lifestyles.

 

The BMW Connected Window extends BMW Connected’s wide-ranging
functionality to include digital life at home. It shows the user – at
the relevant time and in the relevant area of the home – what actions
may be required for personal mobility planning. Since the system is
linked up with BMW Connected, exchanging information and contacts,
planning the user’s personal mobility agenda and selecting
infotainment functions are possible not just in the vehicle and on a
smartphone but also on a “big screen” in the user’s own home. The
technology is operated using gesture control, i.e. by intuitive
touchscreen-style commands – but without actually touching a screen.

 

Please find attached the press kit “BMW at the Consumer
Electronics Show (CES) 2017 in Las Vegas.”