BMW ConnectedDrive is the programme which sets milestone for networked mobility for BMW vehicles. It has been setting the pace in the field of automotive connectivity for many years now, and is renowned for forward-looking in-car concepts and technologies that maximise customer benefit.
Thew new generation of BMW Navigation system Professional welcomes ever more powerful and impressive features which includes 3D, speech recognition, multi-touch touchpad and high speed mobile Internet.
It was back in 1994 that BMW became the first carmaker to offer a built-in navigation system when it made such a system available for the BMW 7 Series. The functionality of navigation systems from the BMW Group has increased enormously since that time, so that route guidance is now just one of a whole array of functions designed to interconnect driver, vehicle and the outside world as intelligently as possible. The new generation of the Navigation system Professional is yet another milestone achievement for the BMW Group.
3D Experience
For the first time, the individual menus are structured entirely in virtual,3D spaces and calculation is performed in real time. Quite apart from allowing smooth scrolling and browsing, the high-performance system with a 1.3 GHz processor and dedicated 3D graphics chip features top-quality animations and dynamic transitions to make the whole operating experience an immensely enjoyable one.
A new spatial dimension has been added to the way in which the menu levels are displayed: when sub-menus are selected, they appear dynamically from the right, while the corresponding top menus fade into the background on the left, where they are still visible. In this way, the tactile feedback for the user is accompanied by a direct visual confirmation of their interaction with the vehicle, which furthermore allows them to clearly see their current position within the menu structure on the display.
Improved GPS and 3D City Models
The split-sceen flashes up detailed navigation information in the multifunctional instrument cluster display, the central information display as well as the Head-Up Display.
High Guiding is automatically activated when the vehicle comes within a certain range of the next navigation instruction: from a distance of 300 metres outside built-up areas and 150 metres in built-up areas, the reduced arrow display switches to a detailed bird’s-eye perspective of the surrounding area.
As the driver draws closer to the event, the display gradually shifts from the bird’s-eye map view to an overhead view of the traffic situation for optimum orientation and guidance. A dynamic display of the vehicle’s present position calculated in real time serves as an aid that allows drivers to closely track their progress throughout the turn-off phase.
The new navigation view option “3D City Models” features a realistic depiction of surrounding streets and buildings to help drivers get their bearings, provided such a visualisation of the city in question is stored in the vehicle’s database.
The extended toolbar allows quick customisation of map contents without having to exit the map view. Users can call up Real-Time Traffic Information (RTTI) or weather information directly.
The iDrive Controller can now be simply turned to alter the map scale or tilted to move the section of map in the display, even in a diagonal direction. All the driver has to do is select a point on the interactive map and the PIE menu will open up in front of the map, providing quick and easy access to a wide range of actions. Depending on the information stored, the driver just has to click to show points of interest in the vicinity, view details for them (where available), start navigation to them, change the map view or display the current location or destination.
Multimedia, Contents and Information
The calendar from an integrated smartphone is now displayed in an enhanced, new-look format. Appointments are visualised in the same way as in popular email programs, while the daily view and calendar navigation have been further simplified, too.
Having a 40 GB hard disk built-in and an improvised music search feature enhances the multimedia experience.
New playback functions have been added for a more pleasurable entertainment experience. If the driver likes the song that’s currently playing, for instance, and would like to hear more of the same, simply activating the new “More like this” function generates a new playlist containing similar tracks from the Music collection.
The Online browser apps have been optimised for the split screen, and blend harmoniously into the high-quality display of the remaining contents.
It also ensures that the driver benefits from an instrument cluster display that is perfectly in tune with the current driving situation; COMFORT, SPORT and ECO PRO where each having different color schemes.
Apart from the colour changes, the instrument cluster provides additional personalised information, such as status and function displays, Check/Control messages and navigation instructions, all of which can be called up individually at the driver’s command. All display modes furthermore show any cruise control settings in the speedometer together with the speed restrictions detected by the Speed Limit Info system, as well as indicating when these are exceeded.
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iDrive Touch -Touchpad
Measuring 45 mm across, the multi-touch surface makes certain in-vehicle control functions more intuitive, faster and easier to use – the touchpad now sits on top of existing iDrive controller.
The handwriting recognition function enables characters to be entered with the finger by simply “writing” them on the surface of the touchpad. To further reduce driver distraction, a voice output repeats the character that has been recognised.
Using the touchpad, users can also navigate the map shown on screen.
High Speed Internet Hotspot On The Road
All that is required is to insert a LTE-capable SIM card into the hotspot.
Once it has been put into service in the vehicle, the adapter works just like any hotspot, meaning the passengers can enjoy LTE high-speed internet access on any devices they connect up.
The hotspot additionally comes with a built-in battery pack and antennae, allowing portable use for up to 30 minutes outside the vehicle without an external power supply.
Users connect their device via WiFi to the BMW LTE Car Hotspot, with its Long Term Evolution technology for going online.
The BMW LTE Car Hotspot fits into any BMW centre console with a phone base plate, and can be retrofitted quite easily without changing the aerial and without a great deal of installation work. Even older BMW vehicles can be easily equipped with the latest in mobile internet technology by adding this accessory.
In areas where LTE is not yet available, the adapter will switch to the UMTS or GSM network.
Speech Recognition
The BMW Mobile Office functions already made it possible to have messages from a Bluetooth-connected mobile device displayed in the vehicle and read out.
For the first time, this gives drivers the ability to dictate text freely and compose short text-based messages simply by saying what they wish to write.
There is also a voice-memo function, in contrast to the dictation function, allows the driver to make direct voice recordings of up to two minutes in length and send them straight away by email if required.
The improved voice control offered by the Navigation system Professional is designed to enable more intuitive operation of practically all functions by allowing the driver to phrase commands or questions in whole sentences (in German or English at present) and call up multiple functions with a single utterance, in the same way that the navigation destination can be entered with just one statement.
