Disclosing’BMW iDrive’ to inform drivers of external dangers and find parking spaces

Input 2021.01.12 16:29 | Revision 2021.01.12 17:29

[CES 2021]

BMW unveiled the next-generation display and next-generation voice recognition artificial intelligence (AI) operating system iDrive, which will be installed in the flagship pure electric vehicle’iX’. At CES 2021, which was held online on the 11th (local time), BMW opened an exhibition hall with the theme of’Defining a New Relationship Between Driver and Vehicle’.

The next-generation iDrive supports high-level automatic driving and parking functions by recognizing and analyzing the surrounding environment with sensors installed in the vehicle. It first detects dangers occurring outside and informs the driver, and checks the parking spaces around the destination in advance to reduce search time. By using more diverse and more real-time data, it helps the driver to process a lot of information.

IDrive, which was unveiled this time, detects and reacts to minute changes in the driver’s condition by linking sophisticated voice recognition and AI. While the existing’connected car’ system was at the level of responding to driver commands or questions, the next-generation iDrive is a strong point in that it detects information inside and outside the vehicle by itself and acts quickly.

The BMW iDrive, which appeared 20 years ago, was installed in the BMW 7 series launched in 2001. At the time, iDrive had many controls on the display, and the driver controlled vehicle settings, navigation, and phone functions from this display. In 2015, displays with touch functionality reappeared in the BMW 7 Series.

The latest iDrive will be installed in the iX series of BMW’s new electric vehicles, which are scheduled to be released later this year. The iX is a pure electric flagship model from BMW, and is equipped with the latest 5th generation eDrive powertrain. Equipped with two electric motors, it outputs more than 500 horsepower, and it can travel more than 600 km (based on WLTP) on a single charge. The design has a thinner headlamp than the previous internal combustion engine model, and the vertical kidney grille introduced in the new 4 series is applied.