How It Works: BMW’s Gesture Control
I’ve often made forearm gestures while I’m driving, but they’ve never had any effect other than getting my point across.
However, when I flapped my mitt in the newest BMW seven Series, the car actually responded. It has a fresh system, Gesture Control, which lets you operate some functions by simply moving your forearm.
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Spin your fingers in a circle and you’ll turn the stereo volume up or down, while pointing accepts an incoming phone call, and a dismissive swipe rejects it. Ultimately, pointing two fingers at the screen brings up whatever function you’ve specifically programmed for it, such as switching the radio station or returning to the main menu.
Presently unique to BMW, Gesture Control is part of a system that also includes a fresh touchscreen, but retains the company’s dial-style joystick. The dial’s still there on the console, but it’s no longer the only control option. That’s consistent with the path almost all automakers are taking with layers of redundant systems. When you want to adjust the volume on some stereos, you have your choice of hitting a button on the steering wheel, tapping the touchscreen, talking to the voice directive, or simply reaching over and spinning the volume knob.
BMW Gesture Control
BMW’s fresh system uses a lil’ overhead camera that’s trained on the area above the gearshift lever, since most drivers automatically put an elbow on the centre armrest and point just below the screen. The camera captures the palm movement and relays that to the infotainment system, which analyzes it and then performs the adequate activity.
For the most part it works well, once you get the dangle of exactly where to put your mitt. The point and swipe functions obey instantaneously, but I found it much tougher to get the exact stereo volume I wished, since it’s effortless to misjudge how much movement is needed. That may come with practice, but unless I was impressing friends with the novelty of it, I generally just reached for the volume dial.
The idea behind all of these systems, such as gesturing or telling the car what to do, is to minimize distraction. According to a BMW rep, the company has historically resisted putting in a touchscreen because it believes it’s less distracting to reach down for the console joystick, which is located in a spot where most drivers naturally rest their palms, and it isn’t necessary to look down at the console in order to operate the dial. However, the touchscreen has become an industry standard that many customers want, and so the company has gone along with it.
Many automakers are also migrating to a tablet-style screen, which sits on top of the dash rather than lower in the centre stack, including on the fresh seven Series. Consumers are ripped on the styling — many think it looks tacked-on — but it keeps your eyes up when you’re looking at it, so you’re still watching at least some of what’s going on outside the windshield. Another benefit is that since designers don’t have to dedicate a large chunk of the centre stack to a screen, they can make the dash lower, which in turn makes the interior look roomier and helps improve visibility.
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Gesture Control is presently only available on the top-line seven Series, but it’s expected to eventually display up in other BMW models. That’s the norm for many fresh technologies, which are expensive to develop and are suggested originally on pricier models, until volume production brings the price down.
Naturally, the systems also improve over time. When voice control very first came out, drivers had to go through a laborious process of repeating a series of specific words and phrases for the computer to recognize each voice. Some systems still require drivers to use specific phrases, or to input navigation destinations one line at a time when prompted, but many now recognize natural speech and are continually getting better at it.
Some automakers, including BMW, also add a touchpad where you can trace letters or numbers to bring up contacts or navigation addresses. It’s still not always effortless to write a letter that doesn’t look like you’ve done it with an Etch A Sketch fucktoy, but the systems are getting better at deciphering wobbly characters.
The seven Series’ rotary dial also includes a touchpad up top.
Thanks to the speed at which technology development occurs, infotainment systems generally switch much sooner than other automotive features. There are haptic touchscreens, which click or stimulate when you touch the glass, mimicking hard button feedback so drivers know they’ve tapped in the right place. Some screens have motility sensors, displaying function buttons only when you put your mitt close enough. Lexus uses a console-mounted controller that looks and works like a computer mouse, while Tesla treats every vehicle function with massive electronic screens.
Of course, no system is ideal. Many touchscreens are sluggish or unresponsive when they’re cold, and complicated ones can have a substantial learning curve. I’ve been known to make a few gestures at those when they don’t do what I’m asking of them. They’re not the type that BMW’s system recognizes, but maybe someone is working on that as well.