BMW unveiled the next-generation head-up display technology, 'BMW Panoramic iDrive,' for the first time in the world at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2025, which kicked off on Jan. 7 in Las Vegas.
The new BMW iDrive system is designed around BMW's newly developed head-up display concept, 'BMW Panoramic Vision,' incorporating four key technologies.
First, BMW Panoramic Vision utilizes the entire front windshield of the vehicle, projecting information at the height most suitable for the driver. Drivers can customize the content displayed in the center and right sections of BMW Panoramic Vision using the central display.
The new BMW 3D head-up display directly shows integrated navigation and autonomous driving information at the driver's eye level atop BMW Panoramic Vision, providing high visibility and safety. The BMW 3D head-up display complements BMW Panoramic Vision to display content.
The central display, equipped with matrix backlighting technology, features a familiar yet enhanced menu structure, allowing various functions and content to be efficiently controlled via a touch-based QuickSelect feature.
Finally, the new multifunction steering wheel integrates BMW's 'shy-tech' technology, lighting up the buttons for available functions to enhance user convenience. The steering wheel includes major physical control functions and, through embossing and active haptic feedback, allows drivers to easily press buttons while keeping their eyes on the road.
The BMW Panoramic iDrive adopts a new operating system called 'BMW Operating System X.' Operating System X, developed in-house by BMW, allows for the addition of new features through updates and upgrades, ensuring the use of advanced technology for a prolonged period.
Additionally, BMW's intelligent personal assistant can be called by saying 'Hey BMW' or by pressing a button on the multifunction steering wheel, providing enhanced natural language processing capabilities through a large language model (LLM).
Frank Weber, head of technology development at BMW Group, evaluated, 'The new BMW Panoramic iDrive, which combines advanced technology and intuitive operation, is a culmination of BMW's pioneering research and technological leaps over a long period.' BMW plans to sequentially apply Panoramic iDrive to all new vehicles, starting with the mass production of the BMW Neue Klasse model beginning later this year.