The Application of Advanced Vehicle Navigation in BMW Driver Assistance Systems

The concept of driver assistance systems has been a major focal point of the research at BMW and comprises among other things Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), a concept for assistance in longitudinal control; Adaptive Light Control (ALC), a concept for headlight adaptation to different driving situations; and Situation Adaptive drivetrain Management (SAM), a concept for recommending drivetrain related handling strategies to the driver in order to reduce fuel consumption and emissions. Advanced vehicle navigation based on the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS) will play a major role in future BMW driver assistance systems. The integration of precision navigation in vehicle control systems enables automatic adaptation of the vehicle (its states as well as its parameters) depending upon the future geometry of the roadway and memorized attributes/events using a GPS positioning system in combination with a digital road database.