In this week’s piece, we shall be taking our readers into the world of emerging automotive technology that is making driving pleasurable and more appealing. Today, modern society can barely function without smartphones and with the passage of time, it is expected that the same will apply to connected cars.
The technology revolution has changed the way we live our lives. For BMW drivers, it has become normal to view their vehicle as another networked component of their lives – they expect to be able to access information on the move, communicate via phone or email and keep up with the latest news and situation in the surrounding environment.
The term BMW ConnectedDrive refers to all solutions and innovative technologies that connect BMW vehicles and their occupants with the outside world.
While driving, would you like having access to millions of songs, the ability to dictate emails and text messages, access social media and have a dedicated “phone a friend” service to answer any query?
This is only part of the refocused Connected Drive technology by BMW that will be launched in many of the regions where the German brand is sold this year, as part of its onslaught on the connected-car market.
The biggest hardware change will be a dedicated SIM card in every new BMW. This will enable the vehicle connect to the BMW “cloud” and offer a multitude of possibilities. Owners can still control the level of connections by deciding which applications they want to purchase from the online Connected Drive store.
It can be thought of as an extension of the options list when buying a new car. For instance, the Connected Drive technology can be used as a connoisseur’s service (“phone a friend”) to check necessary information like flight schedule. For better service delivery, the dedicated call centre can deal with most information requests and even send GPS co-ordinates of points of interest directly to the navigation system of your BMW car.
By connection through your smartphone, the driver can integrate popular applications such as facebook and twitter in the BMW iDrive system for seamless operations. It even uses the existing BMW menu structure, which allows the apps to be accessed safely while on the move without excessive driver distraction.
With extra workload placed on the driver by a connected car, safety car become a problem. In some countries, legislation is currently being drawn up to limit the functionality available to the driver (for example, internet browsing) while driving.
BMW has developed a system named Highly Automated Driving (HAD) that can, under certain conditions, take complete control of the vehicle (in the event of steering, accelerating and breaking) to allow the driver more freedom.
This system was experienced first-hand on a stretch of motorway in Munich, traditional homeland of BMW, where a German engineer demonstrated automated driving. Although highly impressive, the system is still in its infancy and would take some time to move from prototype to production.
In summary, the millennium complaint technology forms the core of our BMW ConnectedDrive technology, providing telematic and online services that are fully integrated with your navigation and bluetooth telephone system.
Simply put, every new BMW vehicle equipped with a navigation system and bluetooth telephone preparation is entitled to a three-year complimentary BMW Assist account. Once your account had been set-up, a host of other additional services become available, which include: emergency call, remote services and access to the automakers assist online portal.
All services function independently of a mobile phone. Instead, they are driven through a SIM card that is already built into the vehicle, which means you can access information as and when you need for free. And in case you want to know more about this trendy technology, Coscahris Motors is the accredited dealer.
By: MIKE OCHONMA
