BMW plans to connect cars with other IoT devices, such as an owner’s house and heating system. Currently, all new BMW cars are equipped with the SIM card-based Connected Drive technology which enables remote software updates and future connectivity to other smart devices.
Andrew Furse, BMW
Andrew Furse, product manager at BMW UK commented:
“All UK cars have a SIM card built into them, so that’s enabling every car to be connected. That means we can keep the car connected throughout its life, not just new cars coming through.”
The German auto manufacturer will use Smart Home Control, a feature launched earlier this year, to enable drivers to control smart home devices from behind the wheel.
“You can see if your smoke alarm has gone off because you’ll get a notification in the car, or you can see if there’s a water leak and then speak to whoever’s in the house to find out what’s going on,” continued Furse.
BMW’s goal is to create efficiency in someone’s life rather than adding another layer of complexity and distraction. Other example given by Furse was the ability of the car to communicate with other devices in the home to inform the driver that their journey might be affected by traffic at an earlier stage, rather than when being in the car already.
BMW said currently 500,000 of its UK cars are already connected, but that eventually it hopes all will be online.