The BMW Group is industrialising its Virtual Factory, with production planners continuously scaling applications in the digital twins of over 30 production sites to accelerate production planning worldwide. What once required several weeks of real-world modifications and testing can now be precisely simulated in the BMW Group's Virtual Factory.

For every launch, it is essential to verify that the new product fits on the production line and does not collide with its surroundings at any point. In the BMW Group's Virtual Factory, the collision check is digital, automated and fast, using construction data combined with 3D scans. The movement and rotation of a vehicle through the production lines are precisely simulated, allowing the system to automatically check for possible collisions. What now takes just three days to simulate virtually previously required almost four weeks of real testing.

The new Aeroacoustic and E-Engine Center (AEZ) starts operations at the BMW Group's Research and Innovation Center (FIZ). The building consists of two halves: In addition to a multifunctional part with workshop, testing and measurement equipment as well as a prototype for high-voltage batteries and inverters, the AEZ is home to a technically unique wind tunnel. With a length of almost 100 m, a height of 45 m and a width of 25 m, it is the world's largest vertical acoustic wind tunnel and at the same time the quietest.

Explanatory video of the round cell production (pilot line) in the CMCC in Parsdorf

Software has been at the core of BMW Group vehicle development for years.

Autonomous, driverless transport vehicle navigates precisely through BMW Group Plant Regensburg press plant: With the introduction of an autonomous transport vehicle at its press plant, BMW Group Plant Regensburg is driving forward with digitalisation and automation of its manufacturing processes: The company is thus taking a further step towards the digital and intelligently connected BMW iFACTORY. The driverless platform truck, with its electric drive train, will handle the internal transport of press tools and steel blanks for the press lines autonomously, with a payload of up to 55 tonnes. Using state-of-the-art sensor technology, the transport system navigates accurately and fully autonomously through the production facilities of the Regensburg press plant at a speed of four kilometres per hour - without a driver. The solution is one of a kind and currently exists nowhere else in the world.

In conjunction with BMW Digital Premium the ConnectedDrive Store in BMW Operating System 9 offers an ever evolving range of apps. (images shows content specific to Germany).

Development demo at CES 2024: BMW voice assistant becomes the ultimate vehicle expert with the help of the Alexa Large Language Model (LLM)..

AR Ride: Joint development demo with XREAL – the driving experience is expanded with content that is perfectly blended into the real world with augmented reality glasses.

Teleoperated Valet Parking showcases one way of a driverless parking experience of the future.

The Video App offers a range of entertainment including both live channels and on-demand media libraries in the categories of news, sports, children's entertainment, movies and series (images shows content specific to Germany).

In-Car gaming with Bluetooth controllers will be made available over-the-air for BMW Operating System 9 over the course of 2024.