BMW Connected Drive includes all sorts of features that connect the driver to the car, to the road, and to the world outside the car—including the world of information. Since we need to see in order to drive—so far—some elements of BMW Connected Drive pertain to vision; BMW calls them intelligent vision assistants. These include BMW's Side View, Speed Limit Information, Night Vision, High-Beam Assistant, Selective Beam, and Head-Up Display.
Not all of these features are available in the U.S. and certainly not available on every model. The BMW Head-Up Display was introduced more than six years ago, but it has not yet made it to every model. For example, we did not find it listed in the BMWUSA.com configurator for the 2 Series Coupe or the Z4 Roadster. Most of the rest of the line had models with the Head-Up Display available in optional packages.
Those of you who have it on your Bimmers already know what it is, what it looks like, and the kind of information it can provide you. For example, on some models, speed-limit and navigation information can be projected, while on others, they cannot. It depends on other options your BMW may have.
Some drivers may find the Head-Up Display distracting, but most probably don’t, and that is because of the research BMW has conducted into such matters, as the engineers in the following video discuss.
BMW is not alone in offering head-up display. There’s a good chance that it will be available on the majority of cars in the next few years because at the very least, it keeps the driver’s eyes pointed at the road, instead of at the instrument panel or an auxiliary screen, so it can be a valuable safety feature.
Eventually, BMW will integrate the head-up display into a world of augmented reality, in which the ship’s computer can generate additional information that can be overlaid on the driver’s picture of the road ahead and surrounding environment, giving the driver a more complete picture of not only what’s out there, but how best to deal with it.
We have driven BMWs without the BMW Head-Up Display. They are fun and safe. We have also driven BMWs with the BMW Head-Up Display. They are just as much fun and in our opinion, safer.
Take a look at the video and see what you think.—Scott Blazey
[Photos and video courtesy of BMW AG.]
