Image: BMW AG
How can your navigation system improve your fuel economy? By linking up with the transmission, it can predict the terrain ahead and shift into the appropriate gear before you make it 'round the bend and up the next hill.
That's what BMW's new navigation-based transmission control and Foresight Assistant aims to do, taking into account everything from ascents and descents to speed limits and even the radius of a corner to maximize fuel economy depending on the drivetrain's setting.
BMW has a handful of highfalutin names for its new suite of systems, including Predictive Power Management and Driving Experience Control, the latter of which gives the driver a choice of three transmission modes – Sport, Comfort or Eco Pro – all standard on the most recent BMW models.
Predictive Power Management for BMW's automatic gearbox takes in information from the navigation system along with sensors embedded throughout the vehicle to prioritize either fuel economy or spirited driving, choosing the right gear for the right corner at the right moment. If it knows there's a roundabout ahead, it can downshift automatically before the driver enters the corner and ready the next gear just as he exits and accelerates. Conversely, if the system is set to Sport, the shifts will not only be quicker, but utilizing data about the road ahead, it can select the appropriate gear for the corner, use a minute amount of engine braking to slow the vehicle down, then hold the gear through the bend, making unnecessary shifts and perpetual gear-hunting a thing of the past.
When set to Eco Pro mode, BMW claims that fuel efficiency can be boosted by as much as 25 percent, and if the driver selects the Foresight Assistant feature, their Bimmer will choose the most efficient driving route and provide tips on maximizing fuel economy through the center-mounted display. Additionally, the system can recognize when coasting would max out the MPGs, decoupling the transmission from the engine at the most opportune times.
It all sounds great in theory, and it's sure to play into BMW's i line of hybrid and electric vehicles when the initial model – the i3 – goes on sale late next year. In the nearer term, don't be surprised to find some of these new systems making it to refreshed BMW models later this year or in early 2013. And if BMW decides to fit it to the next dual-clutch gearbox-equipped M3, here's hoping they've added a few race tracks into the navigation data.
Geek's Guide to the Galaxy 19 Sep, 2012
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Source: http://feeds.wired.com/~r/wired/index/~3/Dpgg__n_dps/
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