BMW has presented its vision for autonomous driving at its #NEXTGen event in Munich, Germany, with a demonstration featuring a highly automated BMW 7 Series.
Simulating an urban on-demand mobility scenario, the passenger summons the BMW 7 Series using their smartphone and directs it to a preferred pick-up point. The customer then gains access to the vehicle after the phone is authenticated remotely.
In the Level 4 scenario, the destination address is transmitted to the vehicle via the smartphone app in advance. Due to safety mechanisms implemented in the vehicle, the drive can only begin once all occupants have fastened their seatbelts, although the driving seat remains unoccupied.
Passengers can spend their time in the car however they wish, and once the vehicle reaches its destination, the passenger gets out and lets the car park itself. To ensure safe driving in urban settings, high-performance sensor technologies such as computer vision and innovative sensor fusion methods are used.
BMW plans to test Level 4 functionality with customers in 2021 as part of its iNEXT program.