BMW has grow to be the primary automotive producer to introduce a newly developed digital nervous system designed for all drivetrain variants and car segments. This technique is extra clever, highly effective, and environment friendly, and it’ll initially be carried out within the fashions of the Neue Klasse.
On the coronary heart of this method are 4 high-performance computer systems, known as "Superbrains," which consolidate the computing energy obligatory for important buyer features. These features embrace infotainment, automated driving, driving dynamics, and important facilities like car entry, local weather management, and luxury.
These Superbrains provide over 20 occasions the computing energy of the present car era and are constructed to accommodate future software program and performance updates, together with these pushed by synthetic intelligence for enhanced buyer experiences.
Frank Weber, the Board Member for Growth at BMW AG, emphasizes that expertise openness is important for the corporate’s success. Beginning with the primary mannequin within the Neue Klasse, BMW plans to roll out the related applied sciences throughout its total future mannequin lineup, no matter phase or drivetrain. This consists of the newly developed digital structure comprising highly effective Superbrains and interconnected software program platforms. This structure permits for decoupling car and software program improvement, making certain that every one future BMW fashions keep digitally up to date by over-the-air upgrades and may obtain enhancements from subsequent and subsequent car generations.
A key part of this digital nervous system is a simplified wiring harness based mostly on a zonal wiring structure that reduces wiring utilization by 600 meters and achieves a 30% weight financial savings in comparison with earlier generations. This harness is split into 4 zones: entrance finish, middle, rear, and roof, with the Superbrains linked through high-speed connections to zonal controllers that handle the info circulation.
The innovation continues with “Sensible eFuses,” which exchange as much as 150 conventional fuses. These digital fuses will be programmed for environment friendly power distribution and permit for clever energy administration throughout completely different car states, considerably contributing to a 20% enchancment in power effectivity.
The newly developed digital structure serves as the inspiration for the following era of Software program-Outlined Autos (SDVs). Beginning with the Neue Klasse, the forthcoming BMW mannequin collection will leverage this structure. The primary absolutely electrical mannequin from the Neue Klasse is about for manufacturing later this 12 months on the Debrecen plant in Hungary.
BMW’s superior software program structure builds upon this new digital framework, permitting for steady improvement of a wide selection of digital features inside SDVs. This strategy, mixed with the thought of software program continuity, permits ongoing software program enhancements relatively than restarting improvement for every new era. The software program platforms operate on the Superbrains, with a "Shared Service Layer" offering state-of-the-art cybersecurity and facilitating versatile over-the-air updates, in addition to customer-relevant AI options through clever information networking.
Christoph Grote, Senior Vice President BMW Group Electronics and Software program, states that the implementation of the Neue Klasse ushers in a brand new mode of software program improvement characterised by ongoing evolution relatively than full redevelopment. With international improvement groups now producing considerably extra software program than a decade in the past, BMW stands well-positioned in a aggressive panorama.
Groups devoted to the Neue Klasse are at the moment creating over 1,000 software program modules that comprise over 20 GB of software program and 500 million strains of code. This in depth effort might be built-in into the Superbrains and the car’s digital structure. BMW has invested considerably in making a future-proof car software program improvement basis, together with superior methodologies and instruments inside its international developer community. Central to that is the built-in developer setting, often called "CodeCraft," which operates within the cloud on as much as 75,000 digital CPUs. This setting enhances the event velocity and high quality, supporting over 10,000 builders and attaining as much as 200,000 software program builds per day.
The computing energy obligatory for important features is concentrated throughout the 4 Superbrains. The primary Superbrain, aptly named "Coronary heart of Pleasure," is meant to boost the expertise of electrical driving, using the primary absolutely BMW-developed driving dynamics management system—BMW Dynamic Efficiency Management—for exact management and environment friendly power restoration.
The second Superbrain focuses on superior automated driving capabilities, integrating a number of features right into a single unit and offering twenty occasions the computing energy as earlier iterations.
The third Superbrain manages the BMW Panoramic iDrive and enhances the digital expertise throughout the car by coordinating the infotainment working system. This technique helps an intuitive consumer interface enriched with AI-driven options.
The fourth Superbrain oversees primary features and serves because the central hub for managing car states, controlling important options comparable to entry, local weather management, lighting, and software program upgrades, whereas additionally integrating information from a number of sensors.
BMW is dedicated to navigating its digital transformation with a long-term and coherent technique. Since establishing BMW CarIT over twenty years in the past, the concentrate on in-house software program improvement has led to the growth of worldwide groups, now totaling round 10,000 IT and software program consultants.
Regardless of its sturdy inside capabilities, BMW acknowledges the impracticality of creating all car software program in-house. Thus, they undertake a strategic "Make-or-Purchase" strategy, the place brand-defining software program is developed internally, together with the infotainment working system. Primary functionalities, for which established options exist, are acquired from main business gamers or cultivated by open-source frameworks.
Creator: Blagojce Krivevski | Date: Mar 11, 2025
