German luxury automaker BMW has taken another major step forward toward advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) development. Its Chinese business arm has just launched local research & development for L3 autonomous driving development in the world’s largest auto market.
BMW China reportedly aims to launch its L3 autonomous driving technology globally by the latter part of this year or early 2024.
The automaker’s R&D team will actively work on the future application of the ADAS technology based on China’s regulatory requirements.
L3 autonomous driving tech details
BMW’s L3 autonomous driving technology offers numerous features that enhance the driving experience, such as audio-visual entertainment like games and streaming videos.
It can also support higher-end sensors like the new LiDAR system. In addition, data from its long-range radar and front-facing camera enables the system to interconnect all sensor data to produce a full environmental model.
BMW previously announced plans to integrate the L3 autonomous driving tech into the new 7 Series G70 later this year, as reported by BMW Blog.
During the recent CES 2023 in Las Vegas, Chief Technology Officer Frank Weber stated that the self-driving feature will launch in BMW’s flagship model in 2023. He also said it is a “real Level 3; the vehicle is in charge, not the driver.”
In an interview with CarBuzz, the CTO also explained the reason behind offering the L3 autonomous driving tech to the 7 Series.
“Level 3 functions are still expensive because the car’s sensor system setup [and] backup energy solutions make things very expensive in relation to what you can do with Level 3 at the moment. As a result, this technology will launch on the ultra-luxurious 7 Series before any other model.”
Chief Technology Officer Frank Weber
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BMW officially launched its new R&D center in Shanghai this month, adding to its existing facilities in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang, and Nanjing.
That said, BMW boasts that it was able to build the biggest and most capable R&D system in the Asian country apart from its German HQ.
Seeing how BMW’s autonomous driving tech would rival Tesla’s FSD Beta and Mercedes-Benz Drive Pilot would be exciting.
