BMW Is Working On The Glass Car

2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 09:36

BMW's driver assistance systems are becoming more and more sophisticated. However, the latest technology cannot relieve the driver of the decision about the next step.

By Marc Leimann

In 99 percent of all cases, there is a crash on Germany's streets because at least one driver was not paying attention. The development engineers at BMW have set themselves the goal of further reducing the number of possible sources of error. You want to give the driver even more crucial safety instruments in the future. “BMW Research and Technology GmbH”, as the responsible department at the Munich-based car manufacturer is officially called, is looking for solutions and systems that inform and warn the driver in advance and help to prevent accidents completely or to reduce the consequences of accidents. This should enable the driver to compensate for his physiological limits. But the basic rule is: the decision for braking or evasive maneuvers remains with the driver.

Communication between vehicles

In order to prevent a classic accident in the city center, BMW has developed what is known as active emergency braking. The system uses various sensor technologies such as infrared cameras, radar and laser scanners to record the vehicle environment. The system can clearly differentiate between pedestrians, vehicles and other objects. In a split second, the system classifies the objects and uses the sensor readings to decide whether they are relevant or insignificant for the security of the current situation. In this way, warning messages can be communicated to the driver or automatic, life-saving emergency braking can be initiated by the system.

Cross traffic assistant clarifies intersection situations

The BMW engineers want to master another main source of danger, the intersection accident, with the cross traffic and traffic light assistant. A third of all accidents with personal injury occur at intersections because road users are recognized too late or not at all. If a driver drives in the direction of the intersection and his view is blocked, the cross traffic assistant kicks in. It records the data of other road users in the intersection area and can assess and defuse possible dangerous situations via car-to-car communication. Data such as speed, direction of movement and distance to the intersection are collected, processed and, in the event of danger, passed on to the driver via optical or acoustic signals or converted into a gentle deceleration.

Further systems in research

But BMW engineers are also developing relevant systems for other types of accidents. The curve information for assessing and warning the driver of dangerous curves on the current route, the wrong-way driver information for timely warning of wrong-way drivers on the route section or the traffic light information for optimal use of green phases are intended to make traffic safer both nationally and internationally. However, the systems are not yet available today; they are currently being tested intensively. And they could possibly be in a production vehicle in four to five years.

The same applies to the on-board network technology of the future. The current 7 Series BMW has 60 to 70 control units. A complexity that pushes man and machine to their limits. BMW's vision is to make the vehicle transparent and let the control units communicate with each other and the car with its environment. The Internet Protocol should form the basis for this. Its high level of development and standardization should make the car an integral part of digital data communication. The technology is already being used successfully on the Airbus A380.