After 100 years, BMW goes autonomous

Autonomous driving system as part of the centenary

BMW will mark the centenary by revealing an autonomous driving model

16 January 2016

On 7 March, BMW will be 100 years old and will mark the centenary by revealing an autonomous driving model. As Ian Robertson, head of sales and marketing said: ‘We will celebrate a century of being in business, but we will predominantly be looking at the century ahead.’

BMW think it will be 15 years before we have fully autonomous vehicles on the road, and they’re working hard to bring that vision to fruition. But at the same time the German company is well aware of the complexity of full autonomous, not least some of the philosophical factors. Robertson expands:

‘One of those factors is what you could call the moral dilemma. In a situation where a truck is going to hit your car, what does the autonomous car decide to do: save you by swerving out of the way, swerve into the path of another vehicle and possibly kill someone, or hit a pedestrian, or does it simply decide that, yes, the truck is going to hit you? We’re not ready for that.’

It looks like the second century of BMW manufacturing is going to be as challenging as the first.

MORE ABOUT

BMW

After 100 years, BMW goes autonomous

Read More