BMW has set the cars that can to drive themselves from place to place at the factory in Dingolfing. The frontless cars also have to go around a short test track.
BMW has gone a little further in automation by letting self-driving cars drive around the factory in Dingolfing independently.
Since 2022, the Germans have been working to develop and improve the brand's Automated Driving In-Plant system, which has now been certified and is ready for implementation in production.
– With Automated Driving In-Plant, the production processes are optimized and provide clear advantages in terms of efficiency and logistics, says Milan Nedeljković, member of BMW AG's board responsible for production, in a press release .
The system uses an extensive infrastructure of sensors, including Lidar technology, which are located along the cars' production routes.
According to BMW, this setup constitutes Europe's largest network of Lidar sensors. It is this technology that enables selected models, including the BMW 5 and 7 series as well as the Mini Countryman, to move around the factory under their own power.
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BMW plans to roll out the system to several of its factories. Among other things, the facilities in Leipzig, Regensburg and the one in Oxford, England.
The goal is for 90 percent of the BMW and Mini models to be able to use the self-correcting system during production.
– Over the course of the next ten years, we will log several million test kilometers with Automated Driving In-Plant in our production network alone, adds Milan Nedeljković.
This approach is part of BMW's strategy to increase the automation and digitization of production processes. The technology is also expected to form the basis for future applications in autonomous traffic outside the factory walls. That is, on a public road.
BMW sees great advantages in the new system. Both in relation to efficiency on the assembly line and as a step towards further automation. According to the car brand, the development of the system is an important piece in the long-term plan to strengthen the integration of autonomous technologies in their production facilities and later out to motorists.
