THE NEXT 100 YEARS: BMW VISION NEXT 100 makes Asian debut.

Beijing. 2016 sees the BMW Group celebrate its
centenary – under the motto THE NEXT 100 YEARS. As the centenary year
progresses, the BMW Group continues to look first and foremost on the
future, exploring the question of what individual mobility will look
like over the coming decades. The BMW Group is bringing its vision of
the future to life through vision vehicles like the BMW VISION NEXT
100, which is celebrating its Asian debut in Beijing from 6 to 15 May 2016.

The BMW VISION NEXT 100 stands for the brand’s renowned driving
pleasure. In the future, BMW drivers will still want to spend most of
the time they are in their car at the wheel. In the BMW VISION NEXT
100, the driver will remain firmly in the focus, with constant
connectivity, digital intelligence and state-of-the-art technologies
available for support. But that’s not all: the BMW VISION NEXT 100
will turn the driver into the “Ultimate Driver”. So even though the
world may well be changing, Sheer Driving Pleasure is here to stay –
and will be more intense than ever before.

The Asian debut of the BMW VISION NEXT 100 is part of the travelling
exhibition and event platform “Iconic Impulses. The BMW Group Future
Experience”. The future vision presented at the exhibition reaches far
beyond anything a short-term solution could offer, providing a
multifaceted and inspiring preview of forthcoming trends that will
impact not only the automotive industry but our everyday lives as a whole.

The exhibition “Iconic Impulses. The BMW Group Future Experience”
will run from 6 to 15 May 2015 at the Ullens Center for Contemporary
Art (UCCA), 4 Jiuxianqiao Rd, Chaoyang, Beijing, China.

 

Note to editors:

You can find the latest press releases, media folders and
copy-right-free images for editorial purposes regarding the BMW VISION
NEXT 100 online at: https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/global.

 

BMW VISION NEXT 100: Sheer Driving Pleasure of the future –
What will it look like?

Trying to image how we will live and get around in the future is as
challenging as it is fascinating. How will social, economic and living
conditions change? And what will be the impact on our mobility? What
exciting new possibilities will new technologies bring? And what
effect will digitalisation and connectivity have on our automotive requirements?

To mark its centenary year in 2016, the BMW Group is looking further
ahead than usual with a series of Vision Vehicles designed to
anticipate and respond to people’s future mobility needs. Over the
coming years, mobility will become increasingly diverse. In the
not-too-distant future, most vehicles will probably be completely
self-driving – people will get around in robots on wheels. So, given
these developments, how will we justify the existence of vehicles by
BMW, a brand for whom the individual and Sheer Driving
Pleasure are the focus of everything? And how will BMW’s brand values
translate into the future?

In developing the BMW VISION NEXT 100, the main objective was to
create not an anonymous vehicle but one that is highly personalised
and fully geared to meet the driver’s every need – because the very
emotional connection between a BMW and its driver is something we want
to retain. For the
BMW VISION NEXT 100, the design
team specifically took into account all the trends and technological
developments that will be most relevant to BMW in the decades ahead.
But they also took many of their cues from innovations and designs of
the past. The key factor throughout, however, was something that has
always been typical of the BMW brand: the desire to be uncompromising
in its future focus on technologies and customer value.

Adrian van Hooydonk, Head of BMW Group Design: “If, as a designer,
you are able to imagine something, there’s a good chance it could one
day become reality. So our objective with the BMW VISION NEXT 100 was
to develop a future scenario that people would engage with. Technology
is going to make significant advances, opening up fantastic new
possibilities that will allow us to offer the driver even more
assistance for an even more intense driving experience. “My personal
view is that technology should be as intuitive as possible to operate
and experience so that future interactions between human, machine and
surroundings become seamless. The BMW VISION NEXT 100 shows how we
intend to shape this future.”

 

Four proposals underpinning the BMW VISION NEXT 100:

 

A genuine BMW is always driver-focused.

In recent months and years, the greatest current trend in the
automotive industry has become so widespread that it’s no longer a
question of ‘if’ but ‘when’: autonomous driving. The BMW Group also
believes that BMW drivers will be able to let their cars do the work –
but only when the driver wants. The BMW VISION NEXT 100 remains a
genuine BMW, offering an intense experience of Sheer Driving Pleasure.

 

Artificial intelligence and intuitive technology become one.

Moving into the future, vehicles will be fully connected, and digital
technology will become so normal that it will permeate almost every
area of our lives. Increasing digitalisation will lead to the physical
and digital worlds merging more and more. Artificial intelligence will
learn from us, anticipating many of our wishes and working away in the
background to perform the jobs we delegate to it. The way humans and
technologies interact will be transformed: screens and touchscreens
will be replaced by more intuitive forms of human-machine
communication and interaction. Better yet: technology will become more human.

 

New materials open up breathtaking opportunities.

In the future, how will cars be manufactured? At some point, presses
that punch out hundreds of thousands of steel parts may well become
obsolete – the use of carbon may already be a first indication of the
sea-change that is imminent in the world of automotive materials and
production. Technologies such as rapid manufacturing and 4D printing
will produce not components or objects but intelligent, networked
materials and could soon replace conventional tools to open up
unimagined possibilities in design and engineering.

Mobility will remain an emotional experience.

Vehicles by BMW have never been purely utilitarian or merely a means
of getting from one place to the next. Far more, a BMW is about
looking to the next bend in the road, feeling the power of the engine
and enjoying the sense of speed; it’s about the sensory experience,
the adrenaline rush or that intimate moment at which a journey begins,
be it for a lone driver or one travelling with a close friend or loved
one. Moving into the future, that’s not set to change – because the
emotional experience of mobility is firmly fixed in our collective
corporate memory. By keeping the driver firmly in the foreground, the
BMW VISION NEXT 100 will
heighten this emotional experience in an unprecedented way.

 

BMW VISION NEXT 100: A vehicle for future mobility.

  • From driver to “Ultimate Driver” – through digital intelligence.
  • “Alive Geometry” enables intuitive driver-vehicle interaction.
  • “Boost” and “Ease” driving modes enable driver- or
    vehicle-controlled operation.
  • “Companion”: The intelligent digital partner connects driver and car.
  • Trademark BMW exterior. • Materials of the future.

 

From driver to Ultimate Driver – through digital intelligence.

In the future, BMW drivers will still want to spend most of the time
they are in their car at the wheel. In the BMW VISION NEXT 100, the
driver will remain firmly in the focus, with constant connectivity,
digital intelligence and state-of-the-art technologies available for
support. But that’s not all: the
BMW VISION NEXT 100 will turn
the driver into the Ultimate Driver. So even though the world may well
be changing, Sheer Driving Pleasure is here to stay – and will be more
intense than ever before.

In designing the BMW VISION NEXT 100, the starting point was the
interior. In the years ahead, the driver’s wellbeing will become
increasingly important, and rather than merely feeling they are in a
machine that drives itself, they should sense that they are sitting in
one that was specifically designed for them. This idea gave rise to an
architecture in which the cab seems particularly spacious compared
with the overall size of the vehicle while retaining the typical
exterior lines of a BMW. Despite its domed interior, the BMW VISION
NEXT 100 retains the instantly recognisable athletic silhouette of a
BMW saloon.

The design of the interior permits various modes of operation: Boost
mode, in which the driver is at the controls, and Ease mode, in which
the driver can sit back and let the vehicle take over. In Ease, the
vehicle becomes a place of retreat with plenty of space, agreeable
lighting and a comfortable atmosphere. In Boost, the driver takes over
and benefits from the subtle and intuitive support offered by the
vehicle. All the time, the vehicle is learning more and more about the
person at the wheel, thanks to its sensory and digital intelligence,
which the BMW Group calls the Companion. The Companion progressively
learns to offer the right kind of support to transform the driver into
the Ultimate Driver.

A very important element of the Vision Vehicle is another innovation
known as Alive Geometry, the likes of which have never before been
seen in a car. It consists of a kind of three-dimensional sculpture
that works both inside and outside the vehicle.

 

Alive Geometry enables driver-vehicle interaction.

Alive Geometry consists of almost 800 moving triangles which are set
into the instrument panel and into certain areas of the side panels.
They work in three dimensions, communicating very directly with the
driver through their movements, which are more like gestures than
two-dimensional depictions on a display. Even the slightest peripheral
movement is perceptible to the driver. In combination with the Head-Up
display, Alive Geometry uniquely fuses the analogue with the digital.

The triangles work in much the same way as a flock of birds in
controlled flight, their coordinated movements acting as signals that
are easily comprehensible to those inside the car. Combined with the
Head-Up display, they involve the driver in a form of preconscious
communication, where an intuitive signal predicts an imminent
real-time event.

Various approaches can already be seen today that appear to confirm
the feasibility of this solution. Rapid prototyping and rapid
manufacturing, for example, are gaining importance all the time and
are likely to be commonplace 30 years from now. Although at present it
remains difficult to imagine how hundreds of tiny triangles could be
coordinated to make Alive Geometry work, in the years ahead, it will
be possible, as today’s standard vehicle manufacturing methods are
replaced. In the future it will become feasible to produce far more
complex and flexible forms. This is why, in the context of the
BMW VISION NEXT 100, the BMW
Group refers to 4D printing, a process which adds a fourth level to
components: the functional one. In the years ahead, printed parts
manufactured in this way will directly integrate functions which today
have to be designed and produced separately before being incorporated
into the whole.

At the moment, the digital world is strongly linked to displays; the
next step will be organic LEDs – in other words, displays that can
freely change shape. However the Vision Vehicle suggests there will at
some point be no more displays at all. Instead the entire windscreen
will serve as a giant display, directly in front of the driver. In the
future the digital and physical worlds will merge considerably, as is
also expressed through Alive Geometry, for example, in the way the
analogue dashboard interacts with the digital Head-Up Display in the
front windscreen.

 

Boost and Ease driving modes for driver- or vehicle-controlled operations.

In Boost and Ease mode alike, the elements and technologies of the
vehicle make for the most intense or relaxed driving experience,
depending on what is required. Transitioning between modes is
impressive and perfectly orchestrated, and Alive Geometry remains
relevant throughout. In Boost, when the driver is concentrating fully
on the road, Alive Geometry highlights the ideal driving line or
possible turning point and warns of oncoming vehicles. Rather than
making the driver drive faster, this kind of support sets out to make
them drive noticeably better. In addition, intuitive feedback has a
more physical and immediate impact than a robotic voice or
instructions on a screen. In Ease mode, on the other hand, Alive
Geometry is more discreet in its movements, informing occupants about
the road ahead and any acceleration and braking manoeuvres that are
about to happen.

In Boost mode, the entire vehicle focuses on the driver, offering
intelligent support to maximise the driving experience. The seat and
steering wheel change position, and the centre console moves to become
more strongly oriented toward the driver. As the journey proceeds, the
driver can interact with the vehicle via gesture control.

The contact analogue BMW Head-Up Display of the future uses the
entire windscreen to communicate with the driver. In Boost mode, it
focuses exclusively on what really matters to the driver: information
such as the ideal line, turning point and speed. In addition, full
connectivity, intelligent sensors and permanent data exchange allow
the Head-Up Display to generate a digital image of the vehicle’s
surroundings. In foggy conditions, for example, this means the driver
can benefit from information such as vehicles crossing ahead, before
they actually come into sight. In addition, by learning more and more
about the driver, the system continuously improves, concentrating on
creating at all times the most intense and personal driving experience possible.

The transition to Ease mode brings about a complete change of
interior ambience. The steering wheel and centre console retract and
the headrests move to one side to create a relaxed and welcoming
atmosphere. The seats and door panels merge to form a single unit,
allowing the driver and passengers to sit at a slight angle. This
makes it easier for them to face each other and sit in a more relaxed
position for easier communications. Meanwhile, the Head-Up Display
offers occupants personalised content along with the information and
entertainment they desire.

Depending on the driving mode, the focus of the vehicle changes,
concentrating on essentials for the driver in Boost mode, and the
surroundings and atmosphere in Ease mode, highlighting the impressive
landscapes or buildings of interest that the car is passing by, for instance.

Whether the vehicle is in Boost or Ease mode is also clearly apparent
to other road users as the trademark kidney grille, double headlights
and L-shaped rear lights act as communication tool. Their different
colours of light indicate which mode the vehicle is currently in.

 

 

Companion: The intelligent digital partner connects driver and
car.

The Companion is symbolised by a small sculptural element which
represents the driver-vehicle connection. Shaped like a large, cut
gemstone, it is positioned in the centre of the dashboard, just
beneath the windscreen, where it symbolises the intelligence,
connectivity and availability of the
BMW VISION NEXT 100. It also
represents the constant exchange of data: the more it learns about the
owner and their mobility habits, the smarter it becomes. At some stage
it knows the driver well enough to automatically perform routine tasks
for them and offer suitable advice when needed. Irrespective of the
vehicle itself, constant learning makes the Companion increasingly
valuable to its owner.

The Companion also plays an important role in driver-vehicle
communications when the car transitions from Boost to Ease mode. While
the driver concentrates on the road in Boost mode, the Companion
remains flat in the dashboard. But when the BMW VISION NEXT 100 takes
control in Ease, it rises up to create an interface with the
windscreen. A signal light tells the driver that the car is ready for
fully autonomous driving. For other road users, the Companion has a
similar function, signalling through its own light as well as that of
the vehicle that the car is operating in automated mode. In certain
traffic situations, the Companion is in visual contact with other road
users, helping pedestrians to cross the road by means of the green
light gradient on the front of the vehicle.

 

Trademark BMW exterior.

The design of the BMW Vision Vehicle is characterised by a blend of
coupé-type sportiness and the dynamic elegance of a sedan. At 4.90
meters long and 1.37 meters high, it has compact exterior dimensions.
Inside, however, it has the dimensions of a luxury BMW sedan.

The large wheels are positioned at the outer edges of the body,
giving the vehicle the dynamic stance that is a trademark of BMW. When
it comes to aerodynamics, exterior Alive Geometry contributes to an
outstanding effect: when the wheels swivel as the vehicle is steered,
the bodywork keeps them covered as if it were a flexible skin,
accommodating their various positions. The innovative design of the
BMW VISION NEXT 100 gives it an extremely low drag coefficient of 0.18.

The exterior of the vehicle is copper in colour, designed to
underscore the idea that BMW vehicles of the future should appear
technical yet still have a warmth about them – as symbolised by the
close links between the vehicle and its driver.

This relationship begins as soon as the driver approaches the
vehicle: intelligent sensor technologies automatically open its wing
doors. To give the driver more space to enter and exit, the steering
wheel is flush with the dashboard. Once seated, the full range of
systems is activated by tapping on the BMW logo in the middle of the
dashboard. The door closes, the steering wheel comes forward, and the
driving experience begins.

 

Materials of the future.

The designers of the BMW VISION NEXT 100 primarily used fabrics made
from recycled or renewable materials. The visible and non-visible
carbon components, such as the side panels, are made from residues
from normal carbon fibre production. In the future, the choice of
materials will become even more important throughout the design and
production process.

With time, other new materials will also be added into the mix,
allowing different vehicle shapes to emerge. To save resources and
support more sustainable manufacturing, less use will be made of wood
and leather while innovative materials and the consequent new
possibilities in design and production gradually come to the fore.
This approach is already being exemplified by the use of high-quality
textiles and easily recyclable mono-materials and the elimination of
leather in the interior of the BMW VISION NEXT 100.