BMW Joins The Voice Activated Command System Bandwagon, Available From March 2019

BMW will be hopping onto the natural language voice command bandwagon in March 2019 with the introduction of the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant.

The new natural language command system works much like the new Mercedes-Benz User Experience (MBUX), most likely with Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the background as the BMW system can learn the driver’s habits and routines.

In this case, the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant learns the driver’s preferences, including seat heating or frequently visited places in the navigation system. Apart from its learning capabilities, the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant can be renamed to suit your preference. Out of the box, the system responds to ‘Hey BMW’, but that can be changed to anything else the driver desires.

Seeing that the system is contextual-based, the driver can just say, ‘Hey BMW, I’m feeling cold’, in which the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant will adjust the cabin temperature accordingly. Additionally, the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant is also able to explain various features of the car, provide current vehicle status, and help answer questions. But perhaps the coolest feature is the ability to enhance the driver’s well-being. For example, if the driver says ‘Hey BMW, I feel tired’, the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant will respond by adjusting the interior lighting, music, and temperature to help keep the driver awake.

As the name implies, the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant is also able to remind the driver of service appointments and even arrange for an appointment. Integration with Microsoft Office 365 and Skype for Business further adds to the system’s capabilities.

Over time, the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant will benefit from constant technical upgrades and will be able to learn more preferences and favoured settings. With each preference and settings the system learns, this forms the basis for the BMW ID, a digital profile that links the car to the driver and their digital world.

BMW says that the Intelligent Personal Assistant will be available from March 2019 as a basic version. The BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant will be offered with models fitted with the new BMW Operating System 7.0 and as part of the Live Cockpit Professional (6U3).

The new BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant can be ordered for the new BMW G20 3 Series from November 2018. From March 2019, the new X5, Z4, and 8 Series will be able to install the full version of the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant via the Remote Software Upgrade without going to a dealer.