New BMW iDrive Proof Electronics Engineers are Evolving

It's good to see what type of tech that other manufacturer's are developing, especially BMW. There are a lot of features that are just becoming common (drive by wire, ESC, Navi, etc....) that have been in the luxury market for years, so it's not out of this world to think that a variation of this tech will come our way someday.
By Drew WinterWardsAuto.com, Nov 5, 2008 9:32 AM

The Convergence Transportation Electronics Association conference always is full of talk about breakthroughs, but the intense three days of 2008’s conference last month in Detroit revealed a very different type of breakthrough made by the automotive electronics community.

This breakthrough is the kind you might have on a psychoanalyst’s couch.

In one exhausting 72-hour period full of exhilarating technology and mind-numbing acronyms, it became apparent that more than 6,000 very smart engineers were acknowledging the existence of Joe the Consumer (JTC).

More importantly, they were agreeing this slightly dense Everyman deserves to play a major role in the development of future automotive electronic systems. Bingo.

Not that they would put the schlub in charge of anything important, nothing like that. But engineers now agree that JTC has to be able to operate electronic systems easily and intuitively, or at least without getting so frustrated with the human/machine interface that he pops blood vessels in his head.

They realize now that, no matter how brilliantly designed an HMI may be, JTC does not want to spend an hour pouring over an owner’s manual to understand the fundamental logic of how it works.

JTC is a simple guy. He wants to push a button and make something happen, like starting the car or turning on the radio. He doesn’t want a barometric pressure reading or a Spanish lesson while he’s doing it.In other words, JTC does not always see more electronic features as added value. Especially when the add-ons make operation of the original features, such as turning on heated seats, more complicated.Designers must enhance the user-friendliness and reliability of the HMIs to eliminate distraction, Ralph Bruder, of Germany’s Darmstadt University of Technology says at Convergence. “Sometimes, assistance features can confuse drivers even more, leading to information overload,” Bruder says.

The evidence the message truly has sunk in can be seen in BMW’s new iDrive HMI, shown off at Convergence and reborn on the '09 3-Series and 7-Series.

Once one of the most relentlessly criticized devices ever created, the new iDrive now arguably is the best HMI available.

The key to the new system is it features seven separate buttons and/or rocker switches to provide fast and direct access to core functions and menu prompts. That means JTC no longer feels like a rat trapped in an electronic maze when he jogs the iDrive knob in the wrong direction while trying to change his radio station presets.

Entering information such as street and city names for navigation directions also is simpler. On this latest version of iDrive, BMW and its suppliers clearly spent quality time with JTC during development.

The user-friendliness of the HMI – not the number of functions or features – is where the real competitive advantage lies, engineers now agree.

That could lead to incorporating technology into the HMI that responds to gestures, rather than touch or speech, says Bruder. It’s most notable application is the Wii wireless controller from video game maker Nintendo.

JTC likes that idea, as long as he can edit out some of the gestures he makes while driving.

Source;
http://wardsauto.com/commentary/idrive_electronics_evolving_081105/

Canadian Driver: Should electronic stability control be mandatory?

Found a good article on how the Electronic Stability Control (Vehicle Stability Assist in Honda lingo) does and how important it is.
By Paul Williams

Ottawa, Ontario - After learning of another fatal crash in my area -- this one involving a small pickup truck and its four occupants, three of whom died -- I knew that the vehicle subject vehicle, a Ford Ranger, wasn't equipped with Electronic Stability Control (ESC). I know this because ESC is not standard equipment on the Ranger, nor is it offered as an option.

Would ESC have helped? Results from surveys and research all over the world are confirming that ESC has a significant impact on the outcome of crashes involving loss of control (which account for nearly half the road crashes in Canada). According to Transport Canada, "Preliminary analyses of data for calendar years 2000 to 2005 indicate that ESC could have prevented approximately 30 per cent of fatal and injury crashes that involved loss of control, if all vehicles in Canada had been equipped with ESC." That would amount to a reduction of nearly 1,000 fatalities.

Research from the U.S.-based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) supports these findings, confirming that, "ESC reduces the risk of all single-vehicle crashes by more than 40 per cent-fatal ones by 56 per cent." The IIHS estimates that up to 10,000 fatal crashes (in the U.S.) could be avoided each year if all vehicles were equipped with ESC.

In the United Kingdom, the Department of Transport concludes, "That ESC equipped vehicles are involved in 25 per cent fewer fatal road accidents." From the Swedish Road Administration, "For serious and fatal loss-of-control type crashes on wet roads the effectiveness was 56.2 ± 23.5 per cent and for roads covered with ice or snow the effectiveness was 49.2 ± 30.2 per cent. It was estimated that for Sweden, with a total of 500 vehicle related deaths annually, that 80-100 fatalities could be saved annually if all cars had ESC."

So yes, it could have helped.

What is ESC? It goes by a number of names, depending on the manufacturer (DSC for MINI and BMW; AdvanceTrac for Ford; Vehicle Stability Assist for Acura), but basically, as the name suggests, it's an electronic system that helps to keep your vehicle stable. The principle is that sensors in your vehicle detect lateral movement (skidding, sliding sideways, entering a corner too quickly, changing lanes too abruptly). These sensors cause the brakes on individual wheels to be selectively applied in an attempt to maintain desired forward motion. Sometimes, in conjunction with braking, the throttle may be modulated as well.

Electronic Stability Control is remarkably effective, and can give the driver a fighting chance of maintaining or regaining control when the vehicle and its occupants are at risk. In many cases, as the research shows, it will enable the driver to avoid a crash.

What ESC is not (although it's connected to these systems) is anti-lock brakes (ABS) or traction control (TC). Indeed your vehicle may have both those technologies, but still may not be equipped with ESC.

And ESC can't be added, or "retrofitted." It's installed when the car is built; integrated into the vehicle's electronic and mechanical components. Surprisingly, given that ESC has been available for over a decade, Transport Canada reports that only five per cent of vehicles on the road are equipped with ESC, and 60 per cent of Canadians have never even heard of it.

True, new technologies do take time to be accepted, and initially the cost of ESC was high. But even with costs falling significantly (Volkswagen offers it in their Golf for only $450), consumers may not understand the true value of ESC. And as long as ESC is not available on many vehicles, or is only available as an extra cost item (if you can find an example so equipped), consumers will lack the opportunity to benefit from this excellent technology.

That being said, the IIHS reports that ESC is currently standard equipment on 40 per cent of new vehicles in the U.S., and is available at extra cost on another 15 per cent. Furthermore, according to Canadian safety advocate, Glen Nicholson, "The US [has] fast-tracked a regulation making ESC mandatory in all cars and light trucks starting with 55% of 2009 models, 75% of 2010 models, 95% of 2011 models, and 100% of 2012 models."

In Canada, Transport Canada is currently, "Examining the need to require ESC on all new light vehicles sold in Canada." It will propose that ESC will be mandatory equipment on vehicles manufactured on or after September 1, 2011. That would include pickup trucks.

Currently however, the availability of ESC on Canadian new vehicles is not necessarily the same as in U.S vehicles - Canadian models are often equipped differently. Many experts suggest ESC should be standard equipment on all vehicles sold, and CanadianDriver supports this view. You can help too by only purchasing vehicles with ESC. Its availability in your next vehicle should be a deal-breaker. Don't let anyone tell you differently.

Although the operation of ESC is similar from one vehicle to the next, each manufacturer, perhaps confusingly, has a different name for it. Only the Korean manufacturers Hyundai and Kia actually refer to Electronic Stability Control as "ESC." And some have traction control systems with similar names -- BMW's Active Stability Control, or ASC, for instance -- which are not the same as ESC. What you want is listed below (courtesy of Transport Canada), alphabetically by manufacturer.

Here's the link;
http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/pw/electronic-stability-control.php