BMW Innovation Day 2021: Digitization and Connectivity

Due to the pandemic, BMW held the 2021 BMW Innovation Day – Digital and Connectivity Communication Conference online on August 17th.

I watched the entire live broadcast and organized its content.

Digitization is the Key

BMW’s Human-Machine Interaction System has been launched for 8 generations with a history of over 20 years.

BMW plans to invest 30 billion euros in digitization and electrification by 2025. The BMW R&D center FIZ has over 10,000 engineers and 14 driving simulators.

EEA 1Gbps Ethernet Network is a Highlight

BMW refers to it as the building’s cable, the central nervous system of the human body, and the transportation network of the city.

With highly integrated network architecture, BMW reduces 50% of the number of ECUs, has implemented modular management in different regions, and emphasized its 1Gbps Ethernet network with a speed of 30 GB/s.

5G and eSIM

As early as 2012, BMW launched the inter-connected driving service of the 2G network, and in 2021, they launched the mass production of the 5G TBOX, becoming the first luxury car brand in the world to do so. As of now, 14 million BMW cars worldwide have achieved networking.

5G features low latency and high reliability. At the vehicle end, BMW has embedded a 5G SIM card to adapt to the high humidity and high vibration in-car environment.BMW has implemented eSIM technology to eliminate the hassle of changing carriers and cards. Users can choose their own operator and download the selected operator’s card data to the card through OTA. Additionally, the user’s phone number can form a secondary card relationship with the car owner, providing more extended services.

UWB

BMW emphasized the UWB technology, the abbreviation for Ultra Wide Band.

The basic working principle of UWB technology is to send and receive strictly controlled Gaussian single-cycle ultra-short pulse intervals. The ultra-short single-cycle pulse determines that the signal has a wide bandwidth. The receiver directly converts the pulse sequence into a baseband signal using a first-stage front-end cross-correlator, avoiding the intermediate frequency stage in traditional communication equipment, greatly reducing equipment complexity.

Therefore, UWB has the advantages of strong penetration, low power consumption, good resistance to multipath effects, high security, low system complexity, and the ability to provide precise positioning accuracy. Therefore, ultra-wideband technology can be used in the positioning, tracking, and navigation of indoor stationary or moving objects and people, and can provide very accurate positioning accuracy.

Therefore, UWB technology has many scenarios, for instance, Xiaomi and Apple have already deployed it on a large scale in smart homes. BMW has partnered with Apple to promote the standardization of the digital key under the CCC framework, making it the first automaker to apply the CCC 3.0 communication standard.

BMW integrates UWB into the digital key, and it is the first automaker to apply the CCC 3.0 communication standard. When the vehicle is 3 meters away, the vehicle begins to awaken, and the headlights, taillights, and cabin will light up softly and the welcome mat will illuminate. Within 1.5 meters, the car will unlock and open the external rearview mirror. When the driver opens the car door, the vehicle can start the seat and heating functions, and the curved display screen plays the welcome animation, and the vehicle system will load the driver’s personal settings.

BMW is working with Apple to promote the standardization of the digital key under the CCC framework.

About China

After discussing these practical technologies, let’s take a look at what updates BMW has made to iD 8.

BMW has integrated third-party services in three ways. In terms of deep customization, it has been tailored according to apps such as QQ Music and WeChat on board. In November last year, BMW launched Tencent Xiao Chǎng Jìng, which has now been updated with more content. As the first luxury brand to do wireless CARPLAY, BMW has deep cooperation with Apple.

The voice assistant of iDrive 8 is designed with a younger character and two Chinese exclusive custom sounds.

In China, 70 test vehicles are working on the road every day, and there will be a two-year testing period before each car model is launched.

BMW has established the largest R&D system outside Germany in China, with three R&D centers in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenyang, and together with two digital companies, Lingyue and BMW Chengmai, it forms a “3+2” R&D network. Currently, BMW has more than 1,500 people in R&D in China. Globally, BMW has more than 10,000 IT professionals.

The My BMW App is developed jointly by Lingyue and the BMW China R&D team and will be promoted globally. It was launched in China in October and has over 2.3 million users.

Source: BMW official

This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.