Big Things for the Little i3 at CES 2015

bmw-i3

Not to be left out in the vehicle connectivity game at CES 2015, BMW introduced some impressive innovations of their own.

We found BMW i3’s Connected Mobility particularly interesting – the vehicle itself comes with a built-in SIM card. It offers trip-planning abilities that are synced with a user’s calendar. For example, if a meeting time and location is entered into the calendar, the Connected Mobility feature can calculate how long it will take to get from one location to the next. It can even recommend public transportation options, should the user need to leave their vehicle elsewhere. When paired with the mobile app, the Connected Mobility feature can assist the user in finding their car, even in a large parking lot or garage.

With the Remote App for Android, the user can control vehicle functions of the i3 using their smartwatch. Users can unlock doors with a simple gesture, and the doors can be opened or closed based on the wearer’s movement towards or away from the vehicle. For convenience, the user’s smart devices are permanently connected to BMW’s ConnectedDrive server.

BMW also introduced their laser light feature on the M4. Part of what makes this lighting system special, besides being able to illuminate the road up to 650 feet in front of the vehicle, is that it can detect pedestrians and larger animals. This sort of data could potentially help law enforcement personnel reconstruct accidents more accurately.

The engineers at BMW continue to strive to make the user experience comfortable, seamless, and safe.