What's the news?
Lucky visitors to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this week have the chance to (sort of) drive the BMW Vision iNext well ahead of its 2021 launch - thanks to the tricks of virtual reality.
In what BMW calls a 'sophisticated mixed-reality simulation', anyone who slid into the cabin of BMW's all-electric luxury concept at CES was treated to a virtual, fully connected autonomous driving experience.
The aim of the simulation was to show that the Vision iNext is so much more than just a car; instead, it's supposed to seamlessly integrate into a customer's digital life. Thus, the virtual simulation showcased a potentially typical day in the life of an iNext owner, as the driving time was used efficiently to allow for the occupant's maximum capability to do work, errands, interact with friends or to simply relax.
It imagined a day in 2025 with a futuristic city as a backdrop. The onboard BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant planned out the entire day, taking into account any options for 'bidirectional energy management' (i.e., the car putting energy into or taking it out of the national power grid), before the visitor then donned the VR glasses to be immersed in the virtual part of the tour. They would then ride the elevator down from their place of work, step out into the street and clamber aboard the Vision iNext, which would be displaying a personalised welcome and lighting effects.
At the start of the trip, the driver could take 'control' of the iNext as it ran in Boost mode, but then the Intelligent Personal Assistant would take over highway-driving duties, allowing time for a video conference, a shopping app to be opened and perused and then for the 'driver' to open the front door of their house, having received a video message that friends have rung the front door bell. Once inside, they turn on the TV to watch the big game... so the iNext streams the game onto the windscreen of the BMW for the occupant, so that by the time they arrive home and get back into their apartment, they've seen the game up to the same point as the friends who are already in the apartment. It's a clever world in 2025, eh?
Anything else?
The BMW Vision iNext should be able to do 600km on electric power alone, while also having enough grunt from its motors to hit 100km/h from rest in less than four seconds.