BMW is rolling out a major update which it says is designed to merge navigation, vehicle surroundings, and driver assistance into a single 3D display. The update will begin its rollout this October, and will be available for vehicles equipped with BMW’s Operating System X.
The company says that it’s partnered with Mapbox which allows the new feature to place the driver’s vehicle precisely within its lane and road level on the central screen.
The interface is designed to make semi-automated features more transparent, illustrating how the car perceives traffic during complex city driving or on the highway. The system also supports advanced functions like the Highway Assistant, which allows hands-free driving at speeds up to 130 km/h and handles automated lane changes via a driver’s glance.
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Building on this highway capability, BMW says that it plans to expand navigation-guided, semi-automated driving into urban areas starting in 2027, beginning in Germany. Stephan Durach, Senior VP of Digital Services, Infotainment, and Connected Company at BMW comments:
An important step toward highly automated driving is the intelligent interaction between navigation and driver assistance. BMW Maps with Driver Assistance¹ shows drivers how route guidance, environmental perception, and assistance functions work together. This provides better orientation when driver assistance is active—developed by the BMW Group in collaboration with Mapbox.