Artificial Intelligence in Practice

41BMW: Using Artificial Intelligence To Build And Drive The Cars Of Tomorrow

German automobile manufacturer BMW builds and sells 2.5 million cars every year all around the world, badged with its BMW, Mini and Rolls Royce brands.

With a reputation for excellence and early adoption of new technology, its vehicles are some of the most sophisticated on the roads, and like its rival Daimler, it is a frontrunner in the race to make self-driving cars an everyday reality.

BMW operates more than 30 assembly facilities spread across 15 countries, involving a vast logistics operation in which efficiency is key to remaining profitable and competitive with old rivals such as Daimler and new challengers like Tesla.

What Problems Is Artificial Intelligence Helping To Solve?

Car manufacturing is a hugely costly and labour-intensive industry where millions are spent each year on research and development, production and marketing. This can drive revenues of billions, but mistakes at any stage of the fast-moving, complex process can be extremely costly – particularly if they are not discovered before vehicles hit the roads.

On top of this, more than 100,000 people around the world die in road accidents every year, with the majority caused by driver error. Self-driving cars are being developed as the answer to this needless waste of human life, but first they must be trained to understand how to navigate and interact with other cars, either automated or driven by humans.

How Is Artificial ...