The New BMW iDrive - Applied Processes and Methods to Assure High Usability

With iDrive the BMW Group introduced in 2001 a revolutionary HMI concept, which was firstly able to cope with the constantly increasing number of functions in the automobile. It was designed to optimally support drivers in their various tasks while driving. The basic iDrive concept can be described as separating driving functions from comfort functions as well as separating displays from controls. This basic concept together with a highly mounted display ensures that controls can be reached with no need looking at them and that the central display is easy and quick to access. The trendsetting iDrive idea has been widely adopted in the automotive industry. The following article outlines the iterative design and evaluation process that led to the new generation iDrive introduced in 2008 with the new BMW 7 Series. The basic challenge was to come up with an evolution of the iDrive concept by improving it without loosing the revolutionary approach to automotive HMI design.