BMW China and Baidu have partnered to develop the next generation Internet of Vehicles (IoV) solutions that connects vehicles with smart home devices.
At the CES Asia 2018, an agreement was signed between BMW Connected and Baidu Internet of Vehicles on a home-to-vehicle cooperation.
The deal will further extend the application of BMW Connected – from vehicles and mobile devices into the digital lives of customers.
The service is claimed to provide access to vehicle information to customers through voice control and to operate relevant functions easily from their home.
Customer can now easily check, for example vehicle’s fuel level, lock the car via remote control, search for mobility information stored by BMW Connected and plan routes and departure times in advance. The voice control function can be activated by using certain wake-up words.
The cooperation between the two companies will help in developing BMW’s ‘In China, for China’ R&D strategy.
The German automaker is actively building and integrating China’s digital ecosystem, expanding the implementation of its open innovation cooperation with Chinese high-tech companies and has committed to develop diversified and smart mobility experience for its Chinese customers.
BMW Connected claims to integrate vehicles into customer’s digital lives through several touchpoints such as iPhone and Apple Watch. It is powered by BMW Open Mobility Cloud, a flexible cloud-based system.
BMW claims that its Connected can extend mobility beyond the vehicle. It is committed to building a mobility ecosystem and to provide intelligent, seamless and personalised mobility services for customers.
Launched in December, 2016, BMW Connected now has more than one million users and counting. It is available on both iOS and Android platforms.
Baidu intelligent driving group vice president and general manager Zhenyu Li said: "Emerging technologies for the automotive industry have created a more comfortable, convenient, safer and smarter travel experience for consumers. New advancements in IoT, AI and hardware have transformed the 100-year-old industry with unprecedented opportunities."
