BMW and Continental Work Together To Develop Autonomous Cars

BARRINGTON, Ill. - March 20, 2013 - PRLog -- Motor Werks BMW, the local Chicago area BMW dealership (http://www.motorwerksbmwbarrington.com/contact-form.htm), is looking forward a couple decades, to a time when cars will navigate the John Ryan Expressway all by themselves, with little to no driver input. Automated BMW vehicles would be able to improve highway safety and efficiency, and take the stress and pressure out of drivers’ commutes. Continental, which is famous for its world class tires, and BMW are teaming up through the end of 2014 to work on autonomous vehicle technology.

The effort is apparently already quite far along: Continental representatives based in the United States have testified to Michigan officials on the state board of transportation to encourage lawmakers to pass legislation to make autonomous vehicles legal in that state. Continental is already actively testing autonomous vehicles in Nevada, where they are legal on the roads.

Continental also released information that BMW will have partially automated vehicles available to consumers and on the road by 2016. The planned timeline for vehicle automation should have drivers in highly automated cars by 2020 and fully automated cars by 2025. BMW will have at least some level of vehicle automation available on some 2014 vehicles. This will probably take the form of adaptive automated cruise control, automatic braking, and more.

Partially automated vehicles will be able to monitor traffic and obstacles and pilot the car at low speeds, though the driver will need to be ready to take control if necessary. Highly automated cars should simplify the process further, through more advanced sensors and control systems, so that the driver only has to take control with some lead time. A fully automated car would simply be able to do its job without a driver.

Dr. Elmar Degenhart, the Chairman of the Executive Board of Continental said, “In collaboration with BMW Group, we will work out an overarching technical concept that enables highly automated freeway driving in a way that is safe, attractive, and affordable for end customers. We are enriching the project with our systems expertise in the areas of vehicle safety, driver information, and powertrain technology.”

To find out more about forthcoming BMW vehicles contact Motor Werks BMW (http://www.motorwerksbmwbarrington.com/contact-form.htm). Motor Werks BMW is located at 1475 S Barrington Road in Barrington, IL, and serves the Chicago area as a full service BMW dealership, providing service, support, and sales to BMW drivers.