BMW has received an administrative exemption from the German Federal Motor Transport Authority for its Autobahn Assist system. The semi-autonomous system allows the driver to take his hands off the steering wheel at speeds of up to 130 km/h.
Sensor Recording Range in the New BMW 5 Series
BMW
The Autobahn Assist system in the new BMW 5 Series allows the driver to take his hands off the steering wheel while driving. The system takes over speed and distance control as well as steering tasks when driving at speeds of up to 130 km/h. It can be used as an additional function of the steering and lane guidance assistant on highways with structurally separated directional lanes. The function is shown on the "Information Display" in the cockpit. On appropriately designated routes, the driver can also take his hands off the steering wheel for longer periods of time if he keeps a close eye on the traffic situation and is ready to take over the driving task at any time. This is continuously monitored by an attention camera.
With active lane change assist, automatic lane changes can also be made between 60 km/h and 180 km/h without the driver having to intervene. If the traffic situation permits, the system carries out the necessary steering movements and adjustments to the driving speed. In addition, lane changes in the new BMW 5 Series can be initiated simply by the driver looking into the exterior mirror. Confirmation of the lane change with the turn signal is thus no longer necessary. The technical prerequisites for the freeway assistant are provided by a new software stack, the high-performance computing platform and the connection to the BMW Cloud via 5G. The 360° sensor system also includes cameras, ultrasonic and radar sensors, and the live HD map with exact route profiles is also permanently synchronized with GPS.