In the third installment of the multi-part documentary of BMW, by TIME Magazine, we’re going to explore technology. BMW is one of the automotive leaders in terms of new-age technology and it does this by having globalized teams using cutting edge techniques take a look into what the future of the automobile can be.
In Silicone Valley rests a team of professionals who are adapting new technologies to increase the user experience in BMWs. This team is known as the UX. The UX team gets information from BMW drivers and implements that into a database to create the target audience. This helps them establish what works and what doesn’t work, what to improve and what to leave the same. All of this info is then processed and applied to new technologies to be used in cars five to ten years into the future.
The BMW Group Technology office, where all of this techno-magic occurs, a net-zero energy building. This means that the amount of electricity consumed by the building, annually, equals the amount of electricity it creates. It creates this electricity by using a solar panel park and a full scale energy station to store the created electricity. So BMW is walking the walk when it comes to living green.
But it isn’t just green technology that BMW is using to further the user experience. Certain developers are using Oculus Rift Virtual Reality systems to allow customers to “experience” a car before actually sitting in one. This also allows designers to see, almost first hand, how certain aspects of the car’s interior will work and feel. Well, maybe not feel. It’s all very high-tech and innovative stuff.
BMW is also, as we already know, working on autonomous cars. The ultimate end goal is to create a world without traffic collisions. A world like this is near impossible and would take many many years to implement, however, it would be an incredible world to live in. BMW has already proven its autonomous technology works, having test-bed i3’s drive passengers around on its own and even parking itself. BMW is working on this technology so it can be implemented in all BMW cars, not just the i3 and i8.
This is all just more proof as to how BMW is using technology to advance the automotive landscape. BMW has always pushed the boundaries of what’s possible and it doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. Advanced technology will always be used in the making of the Ultimate Driving Machine.
