The BMW Group Technology Office USA is celebrating 25 years in Silicon Valley with an event featuring immersive workshops, exclusive technology demonstrations, and exciting mixed reality, multi-sensory driving experiences at Levi’s Stadium. The celebration will be highlighted by the North American debut of the BMW Vision Neue Klasse and a panel discussion entitled “Humanizing Technology,” with insights from BMW Group Member of the Board of Management, Development, Frank Weber. Weber will be joined by Futurist, Neuroscientist & Technologist Poppy Crum, Head of Trust & Safety at Airbnb Naba Banerjee, and Head of Product at Meta for Work Micah Collins. The conversation will be moderated by renowned technology expert, David Pogue.
“Cutting-edge technological ideas with a lot of potential, developed in the world’s beating heart of high-tech, and perfected in our worldwide innovation network. This is how our BMW Tech Office in Mountain View works,” said Weber. “I am very excited to see what visionary impulses for our ground-breaking innovations our team will keep on creating in the future.”
As an advanced R&D facility, BMW Group Technology Office USA is focused on emerging technologies, user-centered thinking, and product design to envision the future of BMW Group products. A team of creative thinkers, visionaries, and engineers are charged with exploring what’s possible, and pushing the envelope to create the best, and most innovative experiences for BMW Group customers. For the first time the BMW Group Technology Office USA opens its doors to media, stakeholders and partners for an inside look and showcase of some of their past, present, and future projects.
„Innovation is in the core of the BMW brand. Our global Technologies Offices Network connects us with the TOP tech regions worldwide. 25 years ago the BMW Technology Office USA has initiated this successful collaboration model. Our team in California has established a large number of fruitful collaborations and many meaningful innovations for our products and services. When I think of the multitude of projects that are currently in the pipeline there are a lot more awesome things to come.” says Rudolf Bencker Senior VP BMW Group Inventions and Innovations Management.
Global Network.
BMW Group Technology USA became the first BMW Group technology research and development office located outside of Munich when it first opened in Silicon Valley in 1998. Originally based in Palo Alto, the office moved to its current location in Mountain View in 2011.
Today, BMW Group Technology Office USA it is part of a global network of BMW Group technology offices, which are strategically based in key technology hotspots around the world and a critical aspect of the company’s open innovation approach. In addition to Silicon Valley, and Munich, locations include Seoul, Shanghai, Tel Aviv, and Tokyo.
The goal and collective mission of this expansive network is to collect local insight, identify emerging technologies, and work with key partners to envision the future of BMW Group products and customer experiences.
The North American Premiere of the BMW Vision Neue Klasse.
First shown at the International Auto Show (IAA) in Munich in September, the BMW Vision Neue Klasse will make its North American debut. Built on the three pillars of electrification, digitalization, and circularity, the Vision Neue Klasse represents a “New Class” of BMW vehicles which will begin arriving in 2025.
Immersive Workshops – what will be presented:
In a series of workshops, participants will get a behind-the-scenes look at some of the past and present projects developed at the facility, including:
- The AR/VR Journey and its Evolution: Explorations in augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), and potential future applications – including hands-on demonstrations of early product prototypes.
- Intelligent Personal Assistant (IPA): A preview of BMW Group’s next generation in-vehicle voice assistant technology.
- Innovation Mindset: Insight from the office’s team of explorers, creators, and builders, and how being located in the U.S. and Silicon Valley impacts their work, featuring a rare look at some previously unreleased projects.
- Electric Vehicle Battery Development: A discussion on future electric vehicle battery technology with BMW Group’s independent venture capital firm, BMW i Ventures, focused on their strategic investments in this space and collaboration with BMW Group Technology Office USA.
In addition: Interactive Driving Experiences.
A series of interactive driving experiences at Levi’s stadium – from a mixed-reality driving experience and a multi-sensory dynamic scent journey, to a first-ever in-car demonstration of Meta’s Quest headset.
- Mixed Reality Driving Experience: A demonstration of how BMW can use mixed reality technology to bring real cars onto virtual racetracks. In this interactive experience, participants will get behind the wheel of a BMW M4 and drive on a closed course while wearing a VR headset to experience the merging of the virtual and physical worlds.
- Innovation Mindset – Intelligent Dynamic Scent Journey: Attendees will go on a dynamic scent journey during this demonstration of project developed at BMW Group Technology Office USA, that went unreleased so far. Passengers will enjoy a multisensory experience that is shaped by the context of the drive and the world around them.
- Mixed Reality Meta Quest Driving Experience: BMW Group and Meta are pioneering research and exploring potential use cases for extended reality devices within the digital vehicle ecosystem. This is a first-time, in-vehicle demonstration of the ability to accurately display stable virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) content to passengers in a fast-moving car, even when making turns, going over speed bumps, and accelerating. By integrating Meta Quest’s tracking system with BMW’s sensor data, the researchers enabled a series of stable “car-locked” gaming, entertainment, productivity, and meditation experiences.
- Digital Key Demonstration: This session will discuss BMW’s critical role in developing an early proof of concept for using smartphones as a digital vehicle key, which has enabled an industry standard and opened the door for additional vehicle-related smartphone functionality.
SOURCE: BMW Group
