The application will be a part of BMW’s sub-brand BMW I. It will be built into the BMW i3 and BMW i8.

[India Times]

[CNET]

NVIDIA GPUs TO BE THE INFOTAINMENT CENTERPIECE ACROSS BMW’S NEXT-GENERATION OF CARS

From the 7 Series to the Mini Cooper, NVIDIA Powers BMW State-of-the-Art Graphics, Enabling Focus on Safer, More Enjoyable Driving

BMW of North America and NVIDIA today announced a partnership that puts NVIDIA® GPUs in navigation and vehicle-information systems across all next-generation BMW cars worldwide. NVIDIA GPUs will power BMW’s in-car navigation systems to deliver vivid graphics with detailed terrain models, landmarks and a stunning new interface. NVIDIA processors will be found throughout BMW’s range of models, including the 7-Series, 5-Series, 3-Series, Mini Cooper line and X-Series of sports activity vehicles.

Tesla Motors’ Model S to Feature NVIDIA Tegra Processors
Power-Stingy Tegra to Run All-Electric Sedan’s Infotainment, Navigation, Instrument-Cluster Systems

NVIDIA announced today that NVIDIA® Tegra™ processors will power the infotainment, navigation and instrument-cluster systems in the Tesla Model S, the first sedan built from the ground up as an electric vehicle. Built around the driver, the Model S is the premium sedan, evolved. Its infotainment system features a 17-inch touch-screen center console – the largest display ever in a car – providing vivid 3D graphics. In addition to its unrivaled graphics capability, the Tegra processor provides exceptional energy efficiency, a critically important feature for electric cars. One processor will be used to power the infotainment and navigation systems, and another for the instrument cluster.

NVIDIA GPUs TO BE THE INFOTAINMENT CENTERPIECE ACROSS BMW’S NEXT-GENERATION OF CARS

From the 7 Series to the Mini Cooper, NVIDIA Powers BMW State-of-the-Art Graphics,
Enabling Focus on Safer, More Enjoyable Driving

Las Vegas — CES 2011 — Jan. 4, 2011—BMW of North America and NVIDIA today announced a partnership that puts NVIDIA® GPUs in navigation and vehicle-information systems across all next-generation BMW cars worldwide.

NVIDIA GPUs will power BMW’s in-car navigation systems to deliver vivid graphics with detailed terrain models, landmarks and a stunning new interface. NVIDIA processors will be found throughout BMW’s range of models, including the 7-Series, 5-Series, 3-Series, Mini Cooper line and X-Series of sports activity vehicles.

BMW’s iDrive will feature high resolution visuals, real-time traffic reporting and navigation information. iDrive is the intelligent control concept that makes it intuitively simple to use a BMW’s in-car features. Its ability to clearly show the most relevant details and make anticipatory decisions to assist the driver will allow BMW owners to drive more safely and focus on the joy of driving.

Highlights / Key Facts:
· Powered by NVIDIA GPUs, the BMW iDrive system provides:
o Visually rich, next-generation user interface
o Advanced state-of-the-art graphics for navigation and vehicle-information systems
o High resolution display (1280×600)
o Fast user-interface response time

· At CES 2011, see a sneak preview of the BMW 5-Series, showcasing the very latest graphics technologies at NVIDIA’s outdoor exhibit – Central Plaza booth # CP7.

Quotes:
· “A year ago we had a vision to deliver the most advanced intuitive state-of-the-art navigation system. In our quest for superior graphics performance, no one came close to what NVIDIA brings to the table. Our partnership represents the beginning of an exciting new phase for BMW drivers.”
- Elmar Frickenstein, Executive Vice President Electrics/Electronics and Driving Experience Environment at BMW

· “BMW has built their reputation on creating the ultimate driving experience. They are taking that to an entirely new level with NVIDIA GPUs.”
- Dan Vivoli, Senior Vice President at NVIDIA

Useful Links:
www.bmwusa.com
www.nvidia.com

http://www.nvidia.com/object/tegra_automotive.html

About NVIDIA
NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA
) awakened the world to the power of computer graphics when it invented the GPU in 1999. Since then, it has consistently set new standards in visual computing with breathtaking, interactive graphics available on devices ranging from tablets and portable media players to notebooks and workstations. NVIDIA’s expertise in programmable GPUs has led to breakthroughs in parallel processing which make supercomputing inexpensive and widely accessible. The Company holds more than 1,600 patents worldwide, including ones covering designs and insights that are essential to modern computing. For more information, see www.nvidia.com.

BMW Group In America
BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and the Rolls-Royce brand of Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, a strategic design consultancy in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group’s global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all X5 and X3 Sports Activity Vehicles and X6 Sports Activity Coupes. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 338 BMW passenger car centers, 336 BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 143 BMW motorcycle retailers, 100 MINI passenger car dealers, and 31 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

###

Tesla Motors’ Model S to Feature NVIDIA Tegra Processors

Power-Stingy Tegra to Run All-Electric Sedan’s Infotainment, Navigation, Instrument-Cluster Systems

Las Vegas — CES 2011 — Jan. 4, 2011—NVIDIA announced today that NVIDIA® Tegra™ processors will power the infotainment, navigation and instrument-cluster systems in the Tesla Model S, the first sedan built from the ground up as an electric vehicle. Built around the driver, the Model S is the premium sedan, evolved. Its infotainment system features a 17-inch touch-screen center console – the largest display ever in a car – providing vivid 3D graphics.

In addition to its unrivaled graphics capability, the Tegra processor provides exceptional energy efficiency, a critically important feature for electric cars. One processor will be used to power the infotainment and navigation systems, and another for the instrument cluster.

The infotainment and navigation systems feature:
17-inch high resolution display, the largest display ever in a car
Responsive touchscreen with a fully intuitive user interface
Connected navigation with live traffic, points of interest and weather
Touchscreen-based climate-control system

The all-digital instrument cluster features:
Ultra high-resolution, driver-friendly 12.3” LCD display
Advanced 3D graphics providing data about the vehicle

CES 2011 attendees will be able to view the Model S outside the Las Vegas Convention Center in the Central Plaza, booth # CP7.

Visit NVIDIA’s booth in South Hall 3, booth # 31431 to learn about how NVIDIA is working with Tesla Motors to bring visual computing to tomorrow’s cars.

Quotes:
· “Model S is designed for performance-oriented efficiency. NVIDIA allows us to use the highest graphics with the lowest energy use.”
- JB Straubel, chief technology officer at Tesla Motors

“The Model S is a modern marvel – a blend of beauty, performance and efficiency. Tegra’s combination of graphics power and energy efficiency make it a perfect match for the Model S.”
- Dan Vivoli, senior vice president at NVIDIA

About Tegra
NVIDIA Tegra is the world’s first mobile superchip, with eight dedicated computing cores. These include the ARM Cortex-A9 CPU, the world’s only ultra-low power NVIDIA GeForce® GPU and the world’s first mobile 1080p HD video processor.

These features enable it to offer extremely realistic 3D graphics and advanced multimedia functionality and premium-quality accelerated user interfaces. Its auto-grade version has undergone specific testing for the automotive market and passed the industry-standard AEC-100 qualification for reliability, adhering to certain operating temperature ranges. It also offers a complete toolset for engineers to quickly build visually-appealing user interfaces.

[SlashGear]

The Crusher is an unmanned six-wheel vehicle that was developed at the National Robotics Engineering Center for the U.S. Army. It was built at Carnegie Mellon University. The Crusher tank uses QNX’s Neutrino software for navigation.

[Bloomberg]

Fiat’s $550 Million Plant In Mexico City

Nissan Going To Have A Booth At Chicago Auto Show

Navigon iPhone App Going Social

Street View Snowmobile

BMW Sales Up 16.6%

Honda Recalls 378K Cars Over Airbags

Honda is recalling 378,000 additional vehicles because of air bag issues. The force in which the air bag deploys might be too forceful and affects certain Honda cars. Last year Honda had to recall 440,000 vehicles for the same reason. Cars affected include 2001-2002 Accords, Civics, Odysseys and CR-Vs. And 2002 Acura TLs may also be affected. [NYT]

There’s a demographic of VIP people out there that feel that they are constanly being threatened. Of course these people should have the right to drive around in an automobile without feeling vulnerable to a bomb attack. This is where the BMW 7 Series High Security automobile comes in.

The BMW 7 Series High Security has armor plating around the doors, the roof, the pillars, the undercarriage, the separation wall between the passenger and luggage compartments, and the front footwell.

The windows are made out of multiplayered with a unique level of resistance. The glass is over 2″ thick and is covered with polycarbonate layers on the inside. This prevents shattered glass particles from hitting the passengers.

There is an intercom system built into the car that has concealed microphones and speakers to record conversations taking place. There is also an assault alarm and a fire extinguishing system. The car also has irritant gas sensors that will automatically close the windows, shut down air valves, and activate the central locking system. Then an internal fresh air supply system will kick in.

No word on whether the door sensor hazards being developed will make it to the Series 7 High Security.

[via Wired]

Michael Graf is leading the BMW project. The sensors will be ultrasonic and notifies a bar running through the car’s doors if there is a hazard. The bar locks up and gives an alert notification to the driver. The prototype has been seen as positive and could be rolled out into several car models within the next year. BMW itself is still undecided whether the system will be rolled out into all of their future cars.

Personally I think the problem could be averted altogether by rolling out butterfly doors into every car. It doesn’t matter if you buy a Lamborghini or an Escalade, butterfly doors look cool.

[via CNET]

BMW also plans to use streaming Internet TV software, Joost to start their own channel. While there are currently limited details about their plans, it should be interesting to see how BMW will utilize the social networks.

Around the same time when Google acquired YouTube, Chevrolet paid well over $25,000 to create their own Happy New Year themed page on the video web site.  To complement this campaign, Chevrolet held a competition by asking YouTube users to create commercials for them.  While several users took the competition seriously, other users would post videos that related to global warming and social irresponsibility.

While social networks like Bebo, MySpace, and Facebook are growing rapidly, Joost seems to be struggling.  To run Joost smoothly, a user is recommended to have fast, broadband connections.  Even on typical cable modems, Joost is known to struggle a bit.  If BMW’s plans go through, then they should be wary of the limitations of each.  Sometimes creating a widget application or building a channel on Joost is not attention-grabbing enough .

[Information Source: BrandRepublic/Wired]