BMW iDrive 8 promises to revolutionise self-driving tech to pamper drivers

After the announcement made at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas last January, BMW has presented the details of the new generation of the iDrive interface. Frank Weber, board member of the Munich Group with responsibility for research and development claimed it "brings the interaction between driver and vehicle into an even more digital and intelligent future".

Thanks to the latest release of the Operating System 8 developed directly by BMW and to the increasingly extensive application of Artificial Intelligence (AI), iDrive has the opportunity to actively engage in the relationship with the driver and passengers, carrying out tasks as a digital, intelligent and proactive partner in any situation.

The new iDrive will be gradually introduced in all BMW model families,The ability of the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistantto adapt to the driver's needs and habits, as well as to the momentary situation, makes it - more than ever - the central operational element of man-machine interaction.The system is designed to work with natural language alongside that via tactile control on the curved BMW display.But that's not all: iDrive includes the Great Entrance Moments function, which brings emotion to the relationship between driver and car when getting on board.

The entry into the vehicle is accompanied by a carefully choreographed sequence.Attention to the individual, this, whichalsocontinuesduring the journey, taking advantage of the new My Modes that interact with various functions to create special moments through the combination of the vehicle's operating characteristics and the adaptation of the interior environment.The iDrive system recognises repetitive situations, learns from them and makes suggestions on how to activate the functions accordingly.Furthermore, the remote software update allows BMW cars to benefit from regular improvements over the air, to integrate additional functions and to always stay up to date.

The full demonstrationof the advantages offered by iDrive will come aboard the new fully electric BMW iX sports activity vehicle, which - reminiscent of the Munich manufacturer - has been developed from the inside out. The wishes and needs of those traveling aboard the iX are at the heart of the way this revolutionary new model has been designed, carrying the advances made in digital design in the human-machine interface to the last pixel.

A perfect example of this is the BMW Curved Display,whichbringstogether the information screen and the control screen, offering a futuristic interpretation of the traditional attention to the driver in previous generation BMW models.In this ergonomic solution, the 12.3-inch and 14.9-inch display areas merge into one unit.And the distribution of data, alerts and other communications is done on the 'Act, Identify and Inform' principle which ensures that information is distributed clearly and only if relevant to the driving situation.