BMW has just presented at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas, the most important technology fair in the world, its innovative BMW Panoramic iDrive. This is a new information projection system that will allow drivers to have information in front of them displayed across the entire width of the vehicle, from the left A-pillar to the right A-pillar. We met it in detail a few months ago and we told you what it consists of and how it feels to handle it.
I clearly remember how in the early 2000s, BMW revolutionized the way drivers had access to different sources of information and systems with the incorporation of the iDrive control to its cars, an element that debuted in the BMW 7 Series.
There was so much information that the driver could have access to with the arrival of the first connected cars, with navigation systems, advanced on-board computers and so on, that they had to be categorizedgroup them and have them well organized so as not to get lost in that flood of information.
Over the years, the iDrive control was incorporated into other models until it was present in all BMWs, but in recent years it has even been disappearing. Thus, the latest model of the brand that we have tested, the BMW X3, lacks iDrive control and uses a more conventional system to access the systems through a touch screen or prioritizing voice commands.
The first iDrive rotary control arrived with the BMW 7 Series
That’s not to say BMW’s iDrive is dead. Rather we could say that was reinventing itselfas explained to us a couple of months ago in South Carolina, where BMW has the Spartanburg production plant and a vehicle development center.
There, where we tested the prototype of the BMW iX still in the development phase with its camouflaged body, we were also able to learn in detail about the new BMW Panoramic iDrive that will reach its cars with the Neue Klasse, the new generation of BMW models that we will begin to see from the end of 2025 and that promises to revolutionize the automotive world in many ways.
Four elements shape the BMW Panoramic iDrive
La New Class promete break with everything established in the German brand until now, both at the level of design and technology. Judging by what their interiors are going to be like and the type of interaction they pose between the driver and passengers with the vehicle, they will also be revolutionary in this sense.
Four central elements make up the new BMW Panoramic iDrive: the BMW Panoramic Vision, the central display, the new multifunction steering wheel and the new BMW 3D Head-Up Display. But let’s go in parts.
- BMW Panoramic Vision: This is a novel Head-Up Display developed by BMW to project content by reflecting visible information from A-pillar to A-pillar on a black surface printed on the lower section of the windshield. This information is visible to all occupants. The most important driving information is projected directly into the driver’s line of sight on the left side of the BMW Panoramic Vision (in left-hand drive cars), above the steering wheel. The driver can personalize the content of the central and right areas of the BMW Panoramic Vision through the central screen with up to six different types of information. The integration of BMW Panoramic Vision creates a three-dimensional effect for the driver and passengers.
- The new BMW 3D Head-Up Display optional, located above the BMW Panoramic Vision, displays integrated navigation and driving information directly in the driver’s field of vision. The contents of the BMW Panoramic Vision and those of the BMW 3D Head-Up Display are coordinated and have combined animations. These are important innovations in this area, which is why the BMW Group has registered several patents related to these projection technologies.
- The center screen It has matrix backlighting technology, the QuickSelect menu structure and touch access. They ensure that handling is very easy and comfortable, since the screen is located near the steering wheel in an ergonomically ideal position, hence the sides are inclined to the left. Selected content (widgets) can be transferred to the BMW Panoramic Vision by simply swiping your finger on the central display. Up to six widgets can be used, which can be arranged as desired in the BMW Panoramic Vision.
- The new multifunction steering wheel uses BMW technology, according to which the touch buttons with active haptic feedback illuminate to highlight the functions available at any given time. The buttons have a defined raised surface, and ensure that the driver can press them without having to take their eyes off the road. The button layout follows the well-known principle that the driver assistance functions are located on the left side of the steering wheel and the content control functions on the right side.
During that visit to the United States a few months ago, before its debut today at the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Showwe were able to learn about these systems in detail and even interact with them. We did it in two ways: through virtual reality glasses on a simulator with a dashboard, screens and steering wheels that were already identical to the final ones and on a gigantic stage in which the elements of the BMW Panoramic iDrive had been arranged in full size. giant. Yes, the one seen in the video above.
BMW assures that to develop this system it has collected data from the more than 22 million connected BMW vehicles circulating in the world, as well as studies with 3,000 active customers.
The sensations were positivesince although we were seeing it through virtual reality glasses, the projection of information in the driver’s field of vision was very fluid, natural and allowed us to obtain a lot of information without having to take our eyes off the road.
Although I am personally not a fan of haptic buttons and I always prefer physical buttons for certain functions, the truth is that the haptics that are limited to the windshield wipers, the indicators, the exterior mirrors, the volume control, the gear selectors and the rear windows to defog the windows, have a touch Well, although we will have to test them in real conditions since it was conditioned by the virtual reality glasses.
Other functions are optimized for operation via touch/voice control or through the multifunction steering wheel, such as telephony functions, multimedia control systems, navigation, assisted driving, screen customization, MyModes selection and some more.
New operating system
With the arrival of the BMW Panoramic iDrive, a new operating system is also released that replaces 9, which was the one that cars came with until now. He BMW Operating System X is based on Android Open Source Project (AOSP) and allows you to apply updates and improvements more easily than its predecessor.
With this operating system, the different fields and information modules that the driver has at his disposal are combined like never before, allowing a interaction with the vehicle in different areas that requires having the most advanced software.
For example, when a call comes in, in addition to seeing it in the BMW Panoramic Vision, we will also have the personalized steering wheel with the “answer call” button illuminated in green. If we want to reject it, just slide our finger to the right on the surface of the steering wheel.
This is the prototype that previews what the first SUV of the Neue Klasse will be like
As cars become more and more like smartphones, in the new BMWs we can put our favorite photo as background on the screen main and that it is perfectly integrated into the graphics that are displayed on the screen at all times.
Now we will have to wait until the first model of the New class of BMW is presented in society officially. It will be at the end of this year, which has just begun and there are many expectations placed on them.
Source: www.motorpasion.com
