BMW is pulling back the curtain on its next version of iDrive, the software and infotainment platform that has been at the heart of the carmaker’s driving experience for the past twenty years.
The eighth version of iDrive will mostly display on a new “curved” screen that starts behind the steering wheel and extends halfway across the dashboard. It involves merging the 12.3-inch instrument cluster and the central 14.9-inch infotainment screen into a single driver-facing unit. The size of the screen will vary depending on the vehicle, but the screen looks like ‘floating’, the carmaker said. The new iDrive will debut later this year in BMW’s new iX electric SUV, as well as the BMW i4 electric sedan.
The brain of this car will also be a significant improvement over previous models, says BMW. The on-board computer can process 20 to 30 times the data volume of previous models, or about double the amount of data previously possible. This will allow a greater fusion of the vehicle sensors, enabling higher levels of autonomous driving.
According to Frank Weber, chief technical officer of BMW, iDrive is an ‘important step’ towards autonomous vehicles. He explained that iDrive is designed to support level 2 as well as level 3 autonomous management systems.
‘This is not an evolutionary step of what we are in the [previous] generation, ”Weber said. ‘It’s a brand new system that sensors, computers, [and] the way it was developed. ”
Advanced driver assistance systems, defined as level 2 by the Association of Motor Engineers, include track keeping, blind spot detection, automatic emergency braking and customizable cruise control. Most major automakers today have a version of advanced driver assistance in their vehicles. Level 3 refers to highly automatic driving, also called conditional automation, where the driver must still be able to take over the vehicle on demand.
Other carmakers have been downplayed by the promise of Level 3 driving. Audi, for example, said its A8 sedan has a feature called Traffic Jam Pilot, which will relieve human drivers of the need to pay attention during stop-and-go traffic, when active. But the function was dependent on the approval of local authorities, and Traffic Jam Pilot remains dormant in most markets around the world. Audi has no plans to activate the feature, and Level 3 automation remains a major number of legal, regulatory and business-related challenges.
Weber would not say when BMW would introduce level 3 automation, pointing out that it was conditional on collecting more test miles in vehicles equipped with the new version of iDrive.
“No one can currently offer level 3 capabilities because you need so many test miles,” he said. “And so you need a production vehicle, and then you perform all your level 3 validation tests.”
iDrive can be controlled with touch, voice activation or gesture control. There are three main layouts: Drive, in which drivers can use a “dynamically changing area in the middle of the information display to display individually selectable information”; Focus, “designed for extremely dynamic driving situations”; and Gallery, which minimizes management content “to clear as much widget space as possible.”
There’s a theme for personalization done by the carmaker’s new software update. BMW’s personal intelligent assistant, built on top of Microsoft’s Azure cloud system, will “adapt to the driver’s individual needs and routines,” the company said, making it “a central operating channel of human-machine interaction.”
The virtual assistant, which has been available in BMW’s cars for a number of years, will play the role of a ‘digital character who can have a natural conversation with the driver and the front passenger – just like a relationship between people. ‘ Expect some similarities with Mercedes-Benz’s MBUX system or Volvo’s Android-powered Google Assistant.
Using ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, iDrive can load the driver’s personal settings as soon as they start approaching the vehicle by viewing their key holder or smartphone. BMW describes it as a ‘big entry moment’, which includes geometric projections, illuminated door handles and other lighting effects.
There will be three driving modes: sporty, personal and efficient. These driving functions such as engine distribution, steering characteristics, regenerative braking and chassis settings, as well as internal and external sounds. New modes may be added in the future via software updates over the air.
Information on navigation, parking and EV charging will be fully integrated into iDrive. BMW is expanding its theme of personification to its mapping capabilities with a new feature called ‘learning navigation’, in which the vehicle will learn and anticipate the destination the driver is likely to go to next time, based on the driver’s personal ID. It is intended to be a time saver, as well as a way to identify potential road hazards that could delay travel.
iDrive will support Apple CarPlay and Android Auto wirelessly, the company said. BMW has for years been the dubious distinction that it was one of the few car manufacturers that annually charged a fee from their customers to reflect the screen of their smartphone on the information screen of their car. BMW reversed that decision in 2019 and has since offered both CarPlay and Android Auto to its customers for free.