If you’ve been waiting for BMW to reveal a production version of the i8 Spyder at CES 2016, you can stop now. It’s not happening. The drop-top i8 they brought to CES turned out to be the BMW i Vision Future Interaction, a door-less, roof-less autonomous-ready vehicle for the distant future.
The car does come with a number of really interesting technology features, however. BMW i Vision Future Interaction utilizes the company’s latest achievements in gesture control technology, which they call AirTouch, to take hands-free control in cars to a whole new level. It features function control with gestures, touch-sensitive surfaces and voice control, and comes with large displays whose content adjust to match the situation.
The main highlights of BMW i Vision Future Interaction interior include a 21-inch panorama display, instrument cluster with three-dimensional display, and AirTouch with sensors that recognise movements made with the hand and also depth movements. It’s like touchscreen, only you touch the air. Sounds like a bit of a faff, to be honest, but they say it’s efficient, just like the car’s drive modes: Pure Drive (driving yourself), Assist (assistance systems intervene actively) and Auto Mode (highly automated operation).
Also at CES, BMW showcased their latest software Connected technologies and features that result from it, including Open Mobility Cloud networks for ultimate interconnectedness, Gesture Control Parking, Remote 3D map, and Bumper Detect, among others.