Future BMW Models Will Be Able To ‘Feel’ The Road

Ground feedback, or the way you feel the road, is one important aspect of driving. It gives you tactile connection to the pavement, which in turn, improves your handling and lets you enjoy the drive. BMW vehicles are held in high regard in terms of ground feedback, especially its M line of sports-oriented cars. 

But that isn't enough for the Bavarian marque. In order to improve its cars' handling and performance, BMW enters a commercial partnership with Tactile Mobility – the world's leading tactile virtual sensing technology and data provider.

With this partnership, BMW vehicles and the other brands under the BMW Group, such as Mini and Rolls-Royce, will be using Tactile Mobility's pioneering software, giving them the ability to analyze the road surface attributes under their tires. This enables accurate detection of road conditions, which, in turn, can be used by BMW to enhance vehicle dynamics management functions.

Tactile Mobility's software uses built-in, non-visual sensors to collect and analyze data about vehicle/road dynamics, enabling the car to feel the road. With these sensors, real-time data such as available grip levels can be taken into account, allowing adjustments in suspension, powertrain, braking efficiency, tire health, and more. This is all part of Tactile Mobility's VehicleDNA.

On the other hand, SurfaceDNA offers an in-depth view of driving environments to better anticipate road conditions ahead. It allows BMW to pre-configure its vehicles.

"We are thrilled to partner with the BMW Group to equip their smart and future automated vehicles with the sense of 'touch' and show the commercial viability of tactile sensing technology," said Boaz Mizrachi, Tactile Mobility's Co-founder and CTO.

Starting in 2021, Tactile Mobility's software technology will be embedded into the BMW Group's next-generation vehicles on a global scale.