Certified CenterAt Fields BMW Lakeland, we have the great pleasure (and excitement) of representing an automaker that is not content to sit still. As the BMW brand prepares for the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Jan. 6-9, our staff simply cannot wait to see the brand's reception following its demonstration of innovative sensors designed to move drivers ever closer to the potential for collision-free driving.
BMW Group specialists has developed a platform built for 360-degree collision avoidance around a BMW i3 research vehicle. To activate the platform, four laser scanners record the vehicle's environment in order to detect potential obstructions, automatically applying the brakes as a means of collision prevention if the vehicle is determined to be approaching too quickly. Alternately, if the driver steers away from the impending obstacle, the system releases the brakes and returns the vehicle to driver control.
Also on display at CES will be the brand's totally automated Remote Valet Parking Assistant, which pairs laser scanner data with the digital site plan of spaces like a multi-level parking structure to move the vehicle independently across these levels to a parking spot while the driver is free to continue on her day. Once parked, the vehicle locks itself until called through Smartwatch or voice command, perfectly timing its descent to arrive at the structure's exit at the same moment as the driver.
At our Lakeland BMW dealership, we see these and other BMW assistance systems as an indication of the future of driving, and we certainly hope you're there to join us! We wish every one of our drivers could join the brand at CES in Las Vegas, but we will be sure to keep you updated right here on our dealership blog.