We now seem to live in a world where it is more important to check Facebook updates and check who's tweeting who than it is to drive. You have seen it, you may have possibly done it and the car industry wants to introduce the fun and productivity of Mobile social networking to our daily drive.
It makes actually some sense, why leave all our best means of communication and keeping in touch at home? This is where BMW's Vision ConnectedDrive roadster steps in. BMW is keeping silent about whether the Vision CD will ever make its way onto the market as the focus of the car is simply to showcase their new take on Mobile Communication and new style language.
First off the new design is cleaner, more aggressive and features a return to the angry style, shark-esque style front end. The Vision CD is a stylized modern roadster designed under supervision of BMW's new head of design, Adrian von Hooydonk. The interior on the other hand is far more impressive. The two person cockpit incorporates a completely customizable gauge cluster, an enhanced Head-Up Display that delivers a three-dimensional display of driving and communication information. This 3D HUD apparently provides "an optical fusion of the actual view of the road ahead with virtual content." There is an information device for the passenger also.
So what does this all mean? Well simply put, the car provides a "Connected Driving Experience".
Sensors in the rear and front lights monitor traffic flow, the vehicle monitors the driving environment and can communicate to other future Vision CD vehicles. The passenger can surf the Internet and tweet how awesome their car is compared to other cars in front and behind them while the driver has his portable devices connected and read by the vehicle. It reads the drivers calendar and notes and suggests ways of efficiently getting to his or her appointments and meetings in the shortest amount of time via the satellite navigation.
So the possibility of driving home checking who liked your BMW related status and ordering some pizza for collection on your route home. Then selecting a film to watch when you get home just got a little closer to reality. The Vision ConnectedDrive roadster shows the future of linking our online world with our driving world while also previewing a new design language possibly making its way towards your future Beemer.
It's only a matter of time before you can Jailbreak your car to do anything. The possibilities are endless!
By Rory Farrell
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