Munich. In addition to the innovative BMW ConnectedDrive services,
the BMW Group is constantly working to develop pioneering digital
services which will expand vehicle connectivity. The BMW Labs portal,
due to go online on 19 January 2016, will give customers the chance to
test in advance new services still under development and therefore
play an active role in helping to shape the future of BMW
ConnectedDrive services.
BMW Labs enables customised functions via IFTTT.
The first ConnectedDrive option to be made available via
BMW Labs is the integration of the IFTTT service into BMW vehicles.
IFTTT is a free-of-charge service which allows hundreds of web
applications and intelligent devices on the Internet of Things to be
linked together.
Users can create statements known as “Recipes”, which allow them free
rein to combine “Triggers” with associated “Actions”. They can select
from over 260 different services, such as Twitter, Facebook,
Google Drive, e-mail and SMS, and also connect with intelligent
smart-home devices from the likes of Hue, Nest and Netatmo. IFTTT
Recipes allow users to link up their car with these services as they
wish. For example, the outside lighting of their home can be switched
on automatically when their BMW approaches it. It also allows the
garage door to be opened and the house’s heating or air conditioning
to be activated. The user’s family can be informed when the car is
close to a certain location, to let them know when one of the children
is being picked up from school, for example. And if the car is parked,
its location can be stored as a Google Maps link to remind the owner
where it is.
The BMW Group is the world’s first automotive manufacturer to enable
these kinds of individualised functions via the IFTTT service. With
this in mind, the BMW Labs Channel is now available on the IFTTT
website and can be activated at www.ifttt.com/bmwlabs.
Customers can create their own portfolio of Recipes on the site or
IFTTT’s mobile applications.
The BMW Labs widget which links to the service can be selected in the
split-screen menu of the BMW Control Display. To use the widget, the
car has to be specified with the Navigation system Professional and
ConnectedDrive Services with BMW Online, and the user needs to have an
account with IFTTT. Initial testing of BMW Labs and IFTTT has been
carried out in the USA, England, France, Spain, Germany and Australia
using an English beta version.
Users can find further information by visiting the specially created
BMW Labs website https://labs.bmw.com.