BMW is sure to wow at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas next week.
That's when, according to Digital Trends, the luxury automaker will reveal its Vision Car concept, which centers around an AirTouch technology that allows the driver to control everything from the vehicle's navigation, infotainment system and connectivity functions with a simple gesture of a flat hand.
This revealing actually marks the first new wrinkle of the gesture-controlled technology, which was already introduced in BMW's 7 Series earlier this year. It remains to be seen, whether the updated system will be installed on a self-driving car from the automaker.
The AirTouch technology utilizes dashboard-embedded sensors that activate motion-recognition software on the vehicle's panoramic display. Once the motion-recognition software is activated, drivers will be able to control navigation, the car's infotainment system and connectivity controls with a simple gesture of their hands.
To confirm an action in the AirTouch technology, drivers can tap one of two buttons located in the car's cabin — one being on the left side of the steering wheel and the other embedded into the passenger-side door panel, according to Digital Trends.
Not only is the technology a better way of controlling the infotainment system, one can argue that it's actually safer because drivers can simply glance at the dashboard display and make their hand gesture, while keeping their eyes locked on the road, instead of hunching over to control it, staring at it for a longer period of time.
BMW says AirTouch was designed to work with self-driving cars, but until they hit the road with an autonomous vehicle, it's integrating the technology in existing cars.
