BMW's new AI personal assistant will make driving safer by reducing distractions, experts say.
BMW's Professional Driving Assistant vs. Tesla's Fully Self-Driving Car, Part Two
The assistant is the primary way the driver interacts with BMW’s iDrive 8 infotainment system. The driver can give the assistant a personalized name and use verbal or nonverbal commands to call up various functions and information streams in the vehicle. It’s part of a push by automakers to pack as many functions into vehicles as possible without overwhelming drivers with information.
“The intent of these AI-powered, voice-activated personal assistants is to reduce the need for drivers to visually and physically interact with their car’s digital displays for commands,” Michael Burk, an automotive infotainment expert at memory maker Micron, said in an email interview. “They can reduce visual distractions and enable safer driving with eyes on the road and hands on the wheel.”
The assistant is designed to work with the new, very cool BMW Curved Display, which combines a 12.3-inch information display and a 14.9-inch control display into a single unit and is angled towards the driver.
