BMW 2002 Annual Report Download - page 142

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14
Thinking the new
The automotive industry will sometimes progress
in small steps, sometimes by giant leaps  now
evolutionary, now revolutionary  innovations by the
BMW
Group are a case in point.
Light from the future:
BMW
pixel headlight. Ultra-
precise new light distribution is made possible
through pixel headlights. This is done by placing
480,000 tiny micromirrors onto a DMD chip (Digital
Micromirror Device) and substituting them for a
conventional reflector. These minute mirrors then
beam the light onto the road. Each mini-reflector
can be individually controlled and oriented by com-
puter. This opens up new functions hitherto unavail-
able, such as a permanent, dazzle-free high beam,
where the beam is blacked out in the area around
the eyes of an oncoming driver. Road surface mark-
ings may be brightly illuminated and navigation and
warning signs projected straight onto the road.
The vehicle as a traffic observer. To provide timely
and accurate traffic information, the BMW Group
has developed Floating Car Data (FCD), a vehicle-
based data capture system. Effective autumn of
2001, this system is available in all
BMW
auto-
mobiles equipped with the BMW ASSIST telematics
service. This turns each of these vehicles into a
mobile sensor, transmitting traffic information auto-
BMW pixel headlight: navigation instructions projected onto the road