Connectivity plays a vital role on the road to autonomous driving. For more than 20 years, BMW has been a pioneer in the field of connected mobility, and is now taking the next step with the BMW iX.

The principle of swarm intelligence lies at the heart of connectivity at BMW, the collective benefits from the permanent communication and interaction of individuals. The same principle can be applied to mobility. Vehicles of the future are becoming intelligent, high-tech devices, able to perceive and process more and more of their environment. With every newly-certified car, the fleet of connected components grows and the collective becomes more intelligent. BMW Group identified the potential of this technology back in the 90s, and paved the way for more individual mobility with BMW ConnectedDrive.

The BMW iX benefits from over 20 years of connectivity experience, making the technology flagship the most intelligent and connected vehicle that BMW has ever made. A multitude of extremely powerful sensors coupled with over 30 antennae and the highly centralised architecture in which the complex software functions are bundled in a handful of high-performance computers convert the BMW iX into a digital top performer on wheels. It is the first model to feature this technology toolkit, which paves the way for new and highly complex vehicle functions.

The BMW iX goes one step further by becoming the first premium model to be equipped with 5G mobile technology. 5G offers extremely high data bandwidth and low latency – meaning fast data transmission – and also expands the possibilities for connectivity between the vehicle and its environment. It forms the basis for real-time reception and transmission of data and sensor system information to the BMW cloud. Together with the improved quality of service offered by the 5G network, this will bring about significant enhancements and innovations in the areas of entertainment, infotainment, automated driving and road safety.