The Latest on the BMW Vision iNEXT

Despite the fact that the company has said the expected sales launch won’t hit the market until 2021, the buzz about the BMW Vision iNext hasn’t stopped since the idea was initially announced. In fact, the model that was first shown in public last year at the Los Angeles motor show has already begun testing in prototype form in Sweden, leading to additional demands for information from the company.

While the automaker hasn’t said a lot about this electric SAV, speculation is running high, particularly after the BMW-Daimler announcement that the two manufacturers would begin working together to develop autonomous driving software, ensuring it hits the market ahead of schedule.

The News On the BMW iNext

Much of the excitement surrounding this vehicle anticipation of how it will work with you as you drive thanks to the software inside. New videos published by BMW suggest the company is working to understand how people interact with their vehicles to better create a personal assistant feel with the software under the hood.

In fact, BMW has gone as far as to suggest that the car will be able to read your body language. Opening a window, then, would be as simple as pointing to the window you wanted open and giving a one-word command. The iNext may even be able to make reservations or purchase tickets to a show for you.

The News on the Software Powering the iNext

The announcement from BMW and Daimler was a bit surprising to some, but it’s a chance to cut costs and development time for both, which may mean the BMW Vision iNext is coming sooner than expected. Together, they’ll be developing both Level 3 and Level 4 autonomous systems, which could be as ready as soon as 2020.

The goal is to offer driver assistance systems as well as those that would automate highway driving and parking. This likely won’t be the end of the collaboration, though, as they may look to work together so higher levels of automation can be reached faster.