The BMW iNEXT is scheduled for release in 2021 – self-driving, electric and fully connected. A whole range of highly-automated models from all BMW Group brands are set to follow. To achieve this aim, the BMW Group is combining its development expertise in vehicle connectivity and automated driving at a new campus in Unterschleissheim near Munich.
Upon final completion, more than 2,000 employees will work on the next steps towards fully-automated driving, from software development to road testing, at the new location.
From mid-2017, expertise currently distributed across several different locations will be pooled in Unterschleissheim.
The new work structures will be characterised by agile teams, short distances – and, above all, short decision-making processes. At the new campus, software developers will be able to take the code they have just written across the way for testing in an actual vehicle.
The BMW Group aims to start testing highly-automated vehicles in the urban environment, in Munich, as early as 2017.
The BMW Group currently employs around 600 people in development of highly-automated driving. The majority are software developers – and their number is increasing. With the campus in Unterschleissheim, the BMW Group continues to expand its development of highly-automated vehicles and is looking for IT specialists and software developers in the areas of artificial intelligence, machine learning and data analysis.
