With BMW’s new Sedan, you can take your hands off the wheel and transform your car into a mini movie theater. The luxury car company debuted their BMW 5 Series Sedan-based prototype at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, showing off BMW’s advances in automated driving, such as driver assistance systems, a head-up display, voice control, and gesture control.
Drivers can also hand over driving entirely to the car thanks to sensor and control technology. It’s similar to Tesla’s Autopilot, which can be used for cruising down the highway, and was recently updated to include autosteer, forward collision warnings, and traffic-aware cruise control. BMW’s system can supposedly operate without driver supervision in some circumstances. The vehicle can accelerate and brake on its own, and drivers can take their hands off the steering wheel for extended periods of time when the car is on autonomous mode. It can even park itself by connecting with the parking area’s management system, dropping off the driver and then finding a spot to park.
Other car companies have plans for using autonomous cars for ride-sharing, and BMW has said it does too. However, BMW has not announced the time frame for the Sedan’s production.
In the BMW 5 Series Sedan-based prototype, the car can drive itself for extended periods of time.
Driving this Sedan is supposed to be a personalized experience. Drivers can see information about the places and buildings they see on their route using BMW’s Open Mobility Cloud, and they can use gesture control to select information, like by pointing to a building.
The car uses Microsoft Cortana assistance and can also carry out tasks like reminding drivers about an upcoming appointment and recommending restaurants that they can make reservations at. And, drivers will be able to keep an eye on their car at all times using their smartphone, according to BMW.
You may even be able to watch movies while driving. When the car is on automated driving mode, passengers can watch Amazon Prime Video. And if rear-seat passengers are watching a video, the interior lighting will dim and the sun blinds will close. Movies and dinner? Sounds like a date.
Drivers can see information about the places and buildings they see on their route using BMW’s Open Mobility Cloud.
